Shadowdancing
by 2serendipity
Summary: Mystic Falls organises another event: a dance competition! Elena is desperately in need of a dance partner... When Stefan refuses, will Damon oblige?  Be warned for slowburn and a T-rating that occasionally comes dangerously close to the edge...
1. Stefan's mistake

**AN: For those of you who are following my other story, Elena's anger, I'm terribly sorry, but I'm a bit stuck for the moment, so I'm hoping for a little more of your patience... **

**Anyway, I promised this fanfic a lot sooner, but I wanted to write a few chapters before posting... Well, I did that, but I'm still not sure where it's going, so feedback and ideas are always welcome! **

**The title 'Shadowdancing' refers to a dance, presented by casting shadows of dancers on a screen. I see it as something that's an image, a foreshadowing of what's real. If that makes any sense at all? Also when I googled it, it's apparently a song by one of the Gibb brothers: I didn't know it (and it's not really my kind of music), but the lyrics do seem somewhat appropriate here... ;) **

**Thanks to Shadowfaxangel for beta-ing and to Bibi for her suggestions! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Damon, Elena, Stefan and the others, but they make fun playthings for my imagination! **

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><p>Elena burst into the Salvatore house without knocking. She was so excited! She needed to talk to Stefan immediately. Surely she would be able to persuade him to do this! He simply couldn't refuse her. Caroline would be so jealous.<p>

When she rushed into the parlour however, she stopped and looked around. Only Damon was there, reading a book that looked as though it might come apart in his hands. Without looking up, he said, "He's not here. He went out hunting."

Elena refused to come down from her cloud for Damon. She said in a playful tone, "Who says I'm looking for Stefan?"

Now Damon did look up from his book. He cocked an eyebrow and drawled, "You're always looking for Stefan when you make an appearance here. Why would today be any different?" He paused. "You're not seriously going to tell me you came here looking for _me_?"

He stood, carefully putting the book down, and smirked, "Of course, no one would blame you if you _did_ come here to see me, since I'm definitely the better looking one, but you know I'm not one to brag…"

Elena shook her head in exasperation. He really was an inveterate flirt!

"So," Damon said, ambling closer to where she was standing, "What's going on? You look fit to burst with some news…" She shook her head because she was not going to tell him anything and be made a laughing stock, but he went on, "You might as well tell me now, since you know I'll find out eventually."

Irritated by his prodding, Elena pressed her lips together briefly, and then said, "No, Damon. I'm not telling you. It's none of your business."

"Oh, but I just adore _making_ it my business. So come on, tell me already!" Damon coaxed. He was now standing so close to her that she had to look up to see his face. But she refused to back down. She was not at all intimidated by his nearness (although she had to admit it was really hot in here)!

Because she was a bit flustered, she was goaded into replying before really thinking about what she said, "Bite me, Damon. I'm not telling you anything." She snapped her mouth shut, realising her mistake too late…

Of course Damon wasn't going to let that one lie. He smiled wickedly, and leaned in close to her ear, whispering, "Mmm, Elena, is that an invitation? Because you know I would _love_ to bite you! You just have to say the word… Oh, wait, you just did…"

Elena jumped back from him, her cheeks flaming, and looked at him crossly. Must he turn everything into an innuendo?

Amused by her predictable reaction, Damon laughed out loud now, and teased, "Oh, _come on_, Elena! You've been around vampires long enough by now! You _know_ that if you say something like that, we're bound to take it literally!" Well, _Stefan_ probably wouldn't take it literally if a human said something like that…

Elena tried to keep the indignant expression on her face, but he looked so amused and mischievous that she couldn't help but laugh too. It was actually quite funny, and it _was_ her own fault: she did know better! She looked at him, and for a fleeting moment they found themselves in complete harmony, laughing together over the shared joke.

When they both stopped laughing, she found she couldn't look away from him. The laughter had faded from his eyes, but he kept looking at her, a strangely earnest look in his expressive blue eyes, one she didn't want to decipher while it secretly gave her a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

And of course Stefan had to choose that exact moment to walk into the room.

Instinctively, Elena put some more distance between Damon and herself, and immediately regretted her reflex. It was not like she had done anything wrong after all. But she knew Stefan would have noticed her furtive movement. And indeed, he was looking at her suspiciously. Then again, there was always something distrustful in his look whenever she was alone with Damon.

Naturally, Damon was better at dissembling than Elena; he leisurely turned to Stefan, as if nothing untoward had been going on (and nothing had of course! why did she have a guilty conscience?). He said, "Hello, little brother. How was the hunt?"

Stefan had apparently decided to ignore Damon. He went to embrace Elena instead, dropping a lingering kiss on her lips, obviously showing off for Damon's benefit. Elena felt a bit awkward: Stefan was never so much into public displays of affection as when Damon was present. It felt a bit like he was rubbing it in that Elena belonged to him, while Damon stood on the side-lines, and she found that didn't sit too well with her anymore.

Damon looked on mockingly, knowing very well what Stefan was doing. Staking his claim… but it only served to show Damon how insecure his little brother was about Elena, and that meant all was not lost yet! After all, Damon was known to be extremely stubborn, never giving up once he put his mind to something, just like his tenacious hunt for Katherine all those years had proven (even if it turned out to be a complete waste of time and effort, he added mentally).

Finally Stefan pulled away from Elena, and asked, "So, Elena, what are you doing here? You didn't tell me you were coming over, or I would've waited for you." The last was said with a reproachful look in Damon's direction, as if _he_'d known Elena was coming over and had neglected to share the information.

Damon just shrugged and turned away. He picked up his book again and dropped back onto the couch.

Stefan looked annoyed. He was thinking about asking Elena to come upstairs with him, so they could talk in private, but he knew all too well that if Damon wanted to hear them, he would be able to wherever they went. And Elena didn't seem to mind, so he left it at that.

Elena burst out, excitement clear in her voice, "Stefan, have you heard that the school is going to organise a dance competition? Caroline told me this afternoon. She wants to participate, but she's still trying to convince Matt! I told her that of course we would enter too!" She positively sparkled with joyful anticipation.

Stefan was quick to burst her bubble. "Elena, you know how I loathe doing things like that. I told you once that I would never do it again. I don't like these kinds of public displays for a lot of people..."

Elena's face fell. She had known indeed, but she had been sure she would be able to overcome his objections once he saw how much she wanted to do this. "But Stefan, you danced with me at the fifties dance thing at school, and you danced with me at several of the founders parties!"

"Yeah, but those were all just slow dances. I don't mind those. And the fifties thing was a one off, never-to-be-repeated. As I told you at the time. Or I'd have to be drunk, but I don't think you'd _want_ me to be for a dance competition." Stefan said, trying to sound reasonable.

Elena looked down dejectedly, "You didn't even ask what kind of dance competition it's going to be…" she mumbled, "So how can you be sure you're not gonna like it? It might be fun."

Damon was disgusted enough to join the conversation. "Oh, go on, Stefan! Why don't you do it? Can't you see she really wants you to?"

Stefan whirled around. He had completely forgotten that Damon was still there and had undoubtedly been listening in. He snarled at Damon, "Don't you dare meddle between Elena and me, Damon! It's none of your business anyway."

Damon rolled his eyes in annoyance. His brother could be so dense sometimes! He looked at Elena, standing there forlornly, while she tried to hold back her tears at his brothers' callous refusal. And she had been so elated before. It hurt him to see her like this, the radiance that had been in her eyes earlier dimmed. It must really mean a lot to her to participate in this thing, couldn't Stefan see that?

Damon sighed, and tried again, "But Stefan, if it's that important to Elena, surely you can make an exception?"

Stefan felt like a deer stalked by a troop of wolves: they were pushing him in a direction he didn't want to go, and he was thrashing every which way to get away from them. He didn't want to do something like this: a public performance where he could be made a laughing stock was just not his thing. He hated to be put on display for any reason at all. Surely Elena would understand that if she gave it some thought? But then of course Damon had to interfere! He rounded on Damon, and barked, "If you think it's that important to Elena, why don't _you_ oblige? Only I'm certain she will _not _want you to!"

Damon didn't answer immediately, but glanced over at Elena instead. When she looked at him, he lifted one eyebrow inquiringly, silently asking her what she wanted him to do. Their eyes held for an infinite moment, velvety brown meeting piercing blue.

Finally she nodded and said in a subdued voice, "Thank you, Damon. I think I _will_ take you up on your offer…"

She turned around, and quickly walked out of the room, leaving Stefan stunned and Damon pensive…

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><p><strong>AN: So, did you like it at all? Please let me know!<strong>


	2. And so it begins

**AN: First of all, thank you, everybody who's been reading/reviewing/alerting/... my stories! Your reviews really do work inspirational :) Also, t****hank you, Shadowfaxangel, for your help with this - I love our e-mail chats! **

**For those of you who are looking forward to finding out what happens with my other fic Elena's anger... I finally found my muse again, so I'll be updating that story very soon...**

**And for Shadowdancing... Caroline is about to find out about Elena's surprise dance partner... Enjoy!**

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><p>When Elena headed to her locker at school, she saw Caroline waving at her. So she walked over, albeit a little reluctantly. She hadn't told Caroline about Stefan's refusal to participate in the dance contest yet…<p>

"Hey, Elena, did you see the notice on the school board? We'll have to register for participation in the dance contest today by noon. Otherwise it'll be too late!" Caroline was bubbling with enthusiasm.

Elena smiled at her enthusiasm, and remarked, "So I take it you convinced Matt then?"

Caroline rolled her eyes and huffed. "Yes, finally! You can't imagine how hard it was though. You'd have thought he'd be delighted to be asked, but no such thing! Men! I had to use every trick in my book to convince him, and I mean _every_ trick!" She winked at Elena conspiratorially.

Elena took her cue from Caroline and asked dutifully, "What tricks were those?"

Caroline bent over to Elena and lowered her voice, "Well, first I tried all the usual feminine wiles, you know, pouting, begging and tears, but that didn't work. Was Matt always so stubborn? No, don't answer that! I don't really want to know!"

Elena smiled slightly at that. It was amazing how Caroline could still be so very... Caroline, even as a vampire!

Caroline continued in a whisper, "So, when I'd exhausted all of those, I had to resort to the ultimate means of pressure..." When Elena lifted her eyebrows inquiringly, Caroline mouthed, "S-E-X", and rolled her eyes as if to say, Duh!

"Oh," Elena said. Using her feminine power tools to convince Stefan hadn't even entered her mind. Well, Caroline was nothing if not resourceful, especially when she wanted something.

"_God_, Elena, you're so lucky with Stefan. I bet you only had to bat your lashes at him to get him to agree!" Caroline said wistfully, but not really envious.

Elena dropped her gaze. She'd have to tell Caroline sometime, so it might as well be now. She mumbled, "Nope, he didn't agree at all. I'm not going to participate with Stefan."

Caroline was dismayed, "You're not going to participate? Oh no, Elena, you simply have to! I don't want to do this on my own!"

"You won't be on your own, or did you forget Matt?"

"That's not the same, and you know it. You have to try to convince him again! Oh, but the registration is only today! You know what, Elena? Since there isn't enough time now to ask Stefan again, you'll just have to register the two of you now, and work on convincing Stefan later, okay? I'm sure he'll reconsider once he's thought about it!"

Elena couldn't postpone the telling any longer. Besides, she wasn't doing anything wrong here, so what was the problem? She'd just tell Caroline and be done with it! "No, Caroline, I don't think he's going to reconsider. I know Stefan. But I'm still going to participate, only not with Stefan."

Caroline looked surprised. "Not with Stefan? Then who? ... Not with Jeremy?" She asked, an edge of compassion in her voice.

Elena shook her head, and smiled slightly. "No, definitely _not_ with Jeremy!"

"Elena, you're not going to do it with Alaric!"

Elena pulled a face, "Ewww, no, and please watch out how you phrase your questions. No way in hell am I going to _do it _with Alaric! Although I'm sure Jenna would love to!" She laughed when she saw Caroline's horrified expression.

"That's _so_ not funny! Now you've given me nightmares, just thinking about that! So, who else is there?" Caroline looked stumped.

Elena had thought about this long and hard. Was she really going to go through with this? But she wanted to participate so badly, and if Stefan didn't want to see that, at least Damon did. Stefan could go hang himself (wouldn't kill him anyway, she added as a vicious afterthought)! She nodded to herself, and turned back to Caroline. "I'm going to participate in the dance contest with Damon."

Caroline's mouth fell open. "With _Damon_? And Stefan is okay with that?"

Elena bristled. "Why wouldn't he be? It was actually Stefan's idea, and it's not like I didn't ask him first! And he refused, so he has no more say in the matter!"

Caroline looked doubtful at that. "But... but... _Damon_? Are you sure?"

Elena had to admit to having some misgivings herself, but she wasn't going to share them with Caroline. So she said to Caroline, with some exasperation, "Why _not_ Damon? It's only dancing, for heaven's sake! It's not like I'm going to cheat on Stefan!"

"Only dancing, she says," Caroline said, "You don't seem to realize how much opportunity for hanky panky dancing entails... You'll have to practice, all those _hours _spent together, just the two of you... Then there's gonna be touching, and holding hands, and looking into each other's eyes, and bumping into one another _by accident,_ or not so much by accident if I know Damon... You do know that some people say dancing is…" and here she lowered her voice again, "… _vertical sex,_ right? I don't think you know what you're getting into, Elena."

Elena looked mulish. She did have some doubts about this, but surely it wouldn't be as bad as Caroline made it sound! "It doesn't have to be like that. I'll make _sure_ he behaves himself!" She said hotly.

"Mhmm..." Caroline did not look convinced, "But will_ you_?"

Elena swatted her friend on the arm, "Caroline! You know me! I wouldn't _do_ that!"

"But I know _Damon_ too! And I'm well acquainted with his powers of persuasion," Caroline cautioned. When Elena frowned, she added, "Hey, don't say I didn't warn you!"

"Okay, so consider me duly warned," Elena said, and they went to register for the contest.

Elena didn't know if it was significant that she and Damon got number 69...

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><p><strong>AN: So sorry there was no DE interaction in this one, but there will be in the next chapter! Please let me know if you liked it! Thanks :))**

**BTW, you can also follow me on Twitter... I'm val_victrix**


	3. Trepidation

**AN: Thanks to everybody who has been reading and reviewing! Your comments make me so happy! So sorry it took me so long to update this story, but Elena's anger kept me a bit busy…**

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><p>The sun was nearly touching the horizon by the time Elena hesitantly approached the boarding house. She had gotten the envelope with the rules for the dance contest as well as an invitation to a basic dance lesson, and then they needed to start practicing.<p>

Elena had to admit to some trepidation, especially after her talk with Caroline. But she reassured herself: Caroline was bound to be a bit biased where Damon was concerned. So undoubtedly it would all turn out just fine!

When she got to the door and raised her hand to knock, the door swung open as if by magic. Of course she knew magic in this case came down to astute vampire hearing, but it felt a bit daunting nevertheless. She paused on the threshold.

Damon was leaning against the doorframe and smirked at her, "Well, aren't you going to come in? I'm not the doorman at the Ritz you know. I don't get paid to open and close doors all day."

Elena walked with him to the parlor, and wordlessly extended the envelope. Damon took it, and turned it over, "Nice of you to deliver my mail. I'm sure I never saw such a pretty mailman - woman - whatever! What is this?"

"It's for the dance contest at school. You know, the one Stefan refused to-" She swallowed nervously, "You still want to do it, right?"

Damon shook his head at Elena, and said with amused smile, "I always want to _do_ it, Elena! You know you have only to ask," Elena pursed her lips in mock-irritation. They hadn't even started, and here he was already with the double entendres. She was definitely going to regret this!

Exasperated, Damon said, "What, Elena? It's a joke, right? I said I would participate with you in the contest, and I will! So, what's in the envelope then?"

"An invitation to attend some kind of lesson first. They've decided to make it a salsa-dancing contest, and they want to show all the participants some basic steps to start us off."

Damon looked at the paper in his hand, quirking up one corner of his mouth in a smile. "Salsa, is it? Well, that shouldn't be too hard." He turned and walked to the stairs.

"Hey, where are you going? Why is it not gonna be hard?" Elena ran to catch up with him and followed him easily, since he was taking the stairs at human speed.

"I'm just going up to see if I can find some salsa music. Don't you agree it would be easier to practice dancing if we had some music? Or is this dancing lark just an excuse to spend more time with me?" He lifted his eyebrows laconically, as if daring her to object to his flirting.

Elena bit back a smile. She actually enjoyed his playful banter most of the time, even if she had to act as if it irritated her. Because it wasn't the done thing to actually enjoy being a target for constant teasing, especially Damon's special brand of teasing which nearly always held some kind of sexual undertone, at least where she was concerned. Acting as if he exasperated her had become second nature, even though she was well aware it made him target her all the more... In fact, she was certain he knew she didn't mind at all.

So she ignored his last remark, and said, "Well, duh! It's just that I don't know any salsa steps, so how are we going to practice before we've had the lesson, even if we've got the music?"

Damon stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to her, "Oh, Ye of little faith!" He said, rolling his eyes, "You don't know how lucky you are to have found me: gorgeous, smart, and whaddaya know? Also an accomplished salsa dancer!"

At Elena's surprised look, he said, "Elena, really! I'm nearly 170 years old. Is it so surprising that in all that time I would have taken up dancing? So I happened to be in Cuba not too long ago, I was bored. Ergo: salsa lessons!"

When she smiled at the mental image of Damon taking lessons of any kind, he added defensively, "Hey, I happen to like dancing! Back in the day, it used to be the only way you were allowed to touch a woman of a certain standing - the only appropriate way, of course!" He looked positively mischievous, giving her the distinct impression that he must have found enough occasions to touch those women in inappropriate ways!

He waggled his eyebrows at her, "Not to mention that these lessons provided me with plenty of excellent opportunities for extracurricular activities!"

"Oh. So was she pretty?" Elena asked drily.

Damon didn't pretend to misunderstand. He smirked and said, "Oh, yes! That was an added bonus of course: a sizzling hot teacher! And she tasted nice too. Must have been all that sun on her skin," He added as an afterthought, bringing his fingertips to his lips and kissing them as if to express his appreciation for the bouquet of her blood.

"Please, too much information!" Elena held out her hands to indicate she didn't want to hear any particulars about Damon's dance instructor or the taste of her blood. Eww! But that's what you got from hanging out with the fanged brigade.

Time to get this conversation back on track, she thought to herself. "So you mean to say that you know all of this stuff?" She pointed at the card.

Damon finally continued climbing the stairs, but he told her over his shoulder, "Don't sound so surprised! I've got moves you've never seen!" He opened the door to his room.

When he went inside his room, Elena hovered on the threshold, not sure if she wanted to go in or not. It seemed somehow very intimate to be in Damon's room with him.

Damon turned and noticed that she hadn't followed him inside. He motioned her to come in, and when she hesitated still, he said, "Oh, come on in, Elena. I'm not gonna bite you, you know! Even though I'm sure you taste simply divine..." The last was said suggestively.

Elena laughed in spite of herself. "My, you're sure in a good mood today. I haven't been on the receiving end of such a salvo of flirtatious comments in a long time!"

"Well, you are my favorite breather," Damon said with a wink. "And although you'll never say so, secretly you love it!"

"I secretly love it," Elena deadpanned. She watched attentively for Damon's reaction, and she was not disappointed. His eyebrows rose in surprise before he regrouped and flashed over to where she was standing.

He looked her over carefully from top to bottom (damn, if it didn't almost make her fidget!). Then he brought his face very close to hers, so close that she could count his lashes (even though she had no business gazing into those azure eyes like she was doing), and said mock-seriously, "Who are you and what have you done to Elena?"

Elena giggled.

That was when Stefan walked in.

He had been looking for Elena at her home, but Jenna told him Elena had left some time ago to go to the boardinghouse. So he had doubled back home. But he hadn't found anyone downstairs, so he followed the murmur of voices and laughter coming from upstairs.

He paused outside the door to Damon's room before making his presence known, although he was sure that Damon must have heard him come in the front door. It didn't really surprise him that Damon was up to his usual smooth talking tricks with Elena, but he didn't much like the way Elena seemed to be reciprocating!

Elena wasn't immediately aware of Stefan because her back was to the door. He knew the exact moment when she noticed him: she stiffened and the laughter fled from her eyes in an instant. She eyed him warily, as if wondering how much he'd overheard.

Elena just hoped Stefan hadn't been listening too attentively. She knew Stefan didn't much like Damon's flirting attitude towards her. Since she didn't want to cause any more strife between them, she was always very careful not to laugh or show too many signs of appreciation when Stefan was around, because of his clear tendency towards jealousy where Damon was concerned. Even if he didn't have any reason for it, she told herself sternly.

"Hey, baby," Stefan walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning in for a kiss. Elena allowed him to kiss her, but just like the last time he did this, she couldn't actually enjoy it because she knew Damon was looking on with a mocking smile. As soon as she could reasonably withdraw, she did, hastily untangling herself from Stefan.

She felt a little bit awkward now, standing there with Stefan in Damon's room, so she said, "I'm thirsty. Shall we go downstairs?" She avoided looking in Damon's direction: he would understand that their talk of dancing and stuff was finished for today.

And sure enough, when she and Stefan left the room, Damon didn't follow them.

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><p><strong>AN: Did you like it? I really appreciate your feedback!<strong>


	4. The dance lesson

**AN: A great big thank you to all of you who have been reading and reviewing the last chapter of this story! **

**I also want to apologize for not updating Elena's anger (to those of you who are following that story). I will, but Elena seems to have run out of anger for a while and wanted to go dancing instead**** (I can't blame her, lol), so I picked up this story again, and I have the next 2 chapters as good as ready. Enjoy!**

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><p>Two days later Elena rushed into the boarding house. She had agreed to pick up Damon for their dance lesson in town, and they were already going to be late! When she stopped in the hallway and looked around for Damon, Stefan was just coming down the stairs. His eyes lit up when he saw her, and he said, "Hey, Elena. I didn't know you were coming over tonight!"<p>

Elena swallowed. Still, he was going to have to hear it sometime; it was no use postponing this endlessly, so she mumbled, "Ehm... actually, Stefan... I just came by to pick up Damon." Damn, why hadn't she told Damon to meet her over there? That way she wouldn't have risked meeting Stefan like this.

Stefan looked surprised and then annoyed. "Why do you have to pick up Damon?"

Elena fidgeted, and looked towards the stairs. Where was Damon when you needed him? But he was nowhere to be seen, so she answered Stefan truthfully, "I just came by to pick him up for the salsa lesson in town, and we're running late," she raised her voice so Damon would be sure to hear, "… since it's starting at 8!"

Now Stefan was the one who was avoiding her eyes. He looked at his feet, and said hurriedly, "Look, Elena, I'm truly sorry about the dancing thing. It was rude of me to refuse if it means that much to you. If you still want me to, I will partner you and you don't have to bother Damon with it."

"Don't you worry your pretty little head over it, baby bro! It doesn't bother me at all! Actually, it will be my _pleasure,_" Damon drawled, sauntering down the stairs. He walked up to them, and smoothly interposed himself between Stefan and Elena. He turned to Elena, so that his back was to Stefan. Smiling at Elena, he said, "Shall we dance, Miss Gilbert?"

Stefan elbowed Damon aside, and grabbed Elena's hand in his, "Elena, really, I'm willing to be your partner for this thing. Better late than never, right?"

Elena rolled her eyes. Did they never grow up? _Now_ Stefan decided he wanted to dance just because Damon would. Her voice was tinged with irritation when she told him, "Well, Stefan, you _can't_. It's too late now, because I've already registered Damon as my dance partner!"

"So…" Damon's voice was positively dripping satisfaction, "I guess the correct saying in this case would be something along the lines of 'too little, too late', little brother!"

Then he offered Elena his arm with a slight bow, as if he was going to escort her into a ballroom, "Milady, your carriage awaits..."

As they walked out of the front door, they heard Stefan's snarl. "Better watch out your carriage doesn't turn back into a pumpkin at midnight!"

Damon halted and cocked one eyebrow, "Well, well, a snarky Cinderella reference!" Then a hint of compassion flashed in his eyes, and he added quietly, knowing Stefan would hear him anyway, "Hurts, doesn't it, when the shoe's on the other foot for once, and someone else gets to walk into the sunset with the girl…"

Stefan just slammed the door.

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><p>As they walked into the school gym, Elena said, "Caroline is very excited about this salsa teacher. Apparently she's from Cuba, and quite the very best there is. And they only got her to come here because she's judging some dance competition in the area and Mrs. Lockwood offered her a place to stay. Apparently she's quite bored with hotels."<p>

Damon strolled in behind her, wrinkling his nose at the penetrating odor of sweaty socks that permeated the gym. This was one of those times when acute vampire senses were definitely not an asset! Still, it was only for a lesson, and he would put up with a lot worse for Elena's sake! Holding Elena in his arms would no doubt more than make up for the awful smell.

He was startled out of this happy contemplation when a sultry voice exclaimed, "_Dios_ _mio_, if it is not Damon Salvatore!"

Damon looked up, and said with a lazy smile, "Carmencita! I should have known it would be you when I was told they had found quite the _very_ best salsa dancer..."

Elena had stopped walking when she saw the woman the voice belonged to: she was a petite woman with luscious curves and a wealth of glossy dark ringlets cascading down her back. She must be the salsa teacher. Elena remembered Caroline telling her she was Cuban, but strangely enough, the tone of her skin was a nearly translucent alabaster white, contrasting sharply with her auburn hair, bottomless black eyes and sensuous red lips. In short, she was absolutely stunning.

The woman walked up to Damon (no, Elena thought with a pang of jealousy, she didn't just walk, she _swayed_! Was it any wonder that every male eye in the room was glued to her sensuously undulating backside? Especially since it was dressed in a skirt so short it could hardly be called decent!).

She snaked her arms around Damon's neck, murmuring in her accented English, "It is _so_ good to see you! I have missed you after you left, _mi demonio_! I would never have thought to find you here of all places, in this little speck of a town on the devil's backside."

Although Damon wasn't extremely tall, he still had to lean over when she pulled his head down for a kiss. Well, Elena thought sourly, that makes it clear what kind of relationship there had been between them… as if she'd had any doubts, especially if this was the 'sizzling hot teacher with the tasty blood' Damon had talked about.

Elena turned her head away from where little miss Carmencita proceeded to demonstrate just how much she had missed her '_demonio'_, and saw Caroline standing at the back of the room next to Matt. Caroline lifted her eyebrow, silently asking whether Elena had known that Damon seemed _very _well acquainted with the salsa teacher… Elena simply shrugged, answering without words that she hadn't known, nor did she care. Not in the least!

Damon finally succeeded in untangling himself from the very enthusiastic Carmencita. But she didn't release him; she just hooked her arm through his, and said, looking up at him from under her lashes, "Now, it is very fortunate for me that you are here, because you know, Juan has broken his leg! The silly man fell off a horse, when he had no business getting on one in the first place!"

Damon frowned and said dryly, "Who is Juan, and is there any particular reason why I should care what happened to him?"

Carmencita tapped his wrist with her fan, and said flirtatiously, "Of course you should not care about Juan! It is just that he was my dance partner to demonstrate some of the steps… I was going to pick one of these _boys_," she stood on tiptoe so she could whisper in his ear, although everybody was sure to hear her stage whisper, "but I am sure they all have two left feet, so you are going to live up to your name and truly be my salvation!"

At this point Elena had had enough. She approached them and said belligerently, "Now wait just a second! You can't just steal my dance partner!"

Carmencita raked her eyes over Elena, and by the look in her eyes, apparently found her wanting. "And who are _you_?" She asked disdainfully.

Elena opened her mouth for a heated retort, but Damon intervened. With a meaningful look at Elena, he said, "Carmencita, this is my dance partner, Elena Gilbert. She is going to be one of your students, so you can't just deprive her of her dance partner. How would she learn about the most fantastic dance in the world, now that she has such a _wonderful_ salsa dancer like you for a teacher? Besides, I am sure the other men here would like to dance with you as well. It wouldn't be fair to them if I took all of your time and attention for myself …" He lifted his eyebrows expectantly.

If the irony in Damon's voice wasn't lost on Elena, Carmencita obviously didn't pick up on it. She seemed mollified by what seemed to Elena too obvious flattery, and said, "You are right of course. I shall just have to demonstrate the steps with you, and then make use of the left-footed oafs for the rest!"

Carmencita turned on her heels (how did she do that without breaking the things, they must be 5 inches high, Elena thought) and walked over to the open space that had been created as a dance floor. Then she gave Damon a come-hither look. He looked at Elena apologetically and shrugged.

"You will not be needing that," Carmencita purred to Damon, stripping him of his leather jacket (and definitely making use of the opportunity to get her hands on him, Elena thought with a frown).

"To give you an idea of the wonderful dance that is salsa, I shall first demonstrate how it should look when done properly," she said to no one in particular and glided into Damon's arms, moving to stand very close to him. Everybody slowly gathered around in a big circle.

When the music with its heady salsa rhythm started up, the couple in the middle of the floor seemed to still, before suddenly whirling into action. Elena surprised herself by thinking that Damon looked like a sleek black panther, moving through the figures of the dance with a predator's grace. The way he confidently steered Carmencita's curvy body through the complicated twists and turns made it seem so effortless, but Elena was sure she would never achieve that level of perfection.

He hadn't been exaggerating when he'd bragged that he had moves she'd never seen. Just looking at those moves of his made her feel kind of hot and tingly inside...

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry to leave you hanging at this point (no, actually I'm not sorry at all *snickers wickedly*)<strong>**. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!**

**Or join me on Twitter val_victrix ;)**


	5. The dance lesson continues

**AN: and the dance lesson continues…**

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><p>Elena's eyes stayed glued to Damon's powerful body throughout the dance, and she found herself inadvertently admiring the way his biceps flexed, the way the muscles in his back moved under his black t-shirt, and the way his tight jeans were molded to his fantastic butt.<p>

You're a bad girl, Elena Gilbert, she reprimanded herself, you aren't allowed to ogle a guy that way when you have a perfectly handsome boyfriend, especially not if the guy in question is said boyfriend's wicked older brother. But then again she had never denied that Damon was good to look at. Yeah, right, like that wasn't the understatement of the year!

When the music finally came to a glorious finale and Damon twirled Carmencita out in a dazzling spin that sent her curls flying and had her laughing delightedly, Elena looked around, to see everybody staring, equally entranced.

When her eyes alighted on Caroline, Caroline looked slightly dazed. When the on looking crowd started clapping and whistling their appreciation, Caroline made her way over to Elena, and remarked, "Elena, you sly thing, pretending you asked Damon because he was your last resort! You almost had me feeling sorry for you! Well, that's certainly history!"

Elena colored slightly and replied, "Hey, I really did ask Stefan first. But he didn't want to ... expose himself like this," She wisely refrained from mentioning that Stefan seemed to have changed his mind about that. "Besides, when I asked Damon, I really had no idea that he knew how to do this…"

Caroline looked at her skeptically, "Well, he doesn't just _know_ how to do this! The way he moved just now?" She glanced over at Matt, standing a few feet away, talking to a classmate, and whispered to Elena, "That was just plain sinful_, _like _sex on a stick_, right? Well, you can't say I didn't warn you about this!"

Elena opened her mouth to protest, but Caroline forestalled her, "Elena, don't go denying things that cannot be denied! I know you agree with me, because I saw your face just now. You looked at him as if he was an ice cream sundae and you'd been on a crash diet for weeks!"

Elena felt her face flood with heat, but she was spared from composing a believable reply by Carmencita of all people, clapping her hands and asking everybody to stand next to their partner. She would now walk around and show everybody the correct position to start.

As she began wending her way through the couples, Elena felt Damon come up behind her without even having to turn around. How was it possible that she felt him move through the room without actually seeing him? That was downright creepy! She was so flustered by this discovery that she froze when he came to stand before her and stared at him like a frightened hare.

"What's the matter, Elena?" He bent his head and brought his mouth closer to her ear so nobody would overhear his whisper, "Don't tell me you've suddenly become afraid of the big bad vampire!" He bared his very clearly blunt teeth to her and growled mock-aggressively low in his throat. Elena giggled in spite of herself, and felt instantly better (even if his growl had made her shiver, and it had not been with fear).

She lifted her arms and tentatively put her left hand on his upper arm, the way she had seen Carmencita do. Damon took her right hand in his left and his right arm slid around her waist, his hand coming to rest low on her back, almost on the curve of her derriere. She could sense his hand there as if it was burning through her clothes. What was wrong with her? It was just Damon after all!

But it was no use. She stood there awkwardly, not daring to look up but staring fixedly at his T-shirt with still quite some distance between their bodies. She resisted when he tried to pull her closer to him.

Damon lifted one eyebrow. He looked down at Elena with a slight smile and said dryly, "You don't like my aftershave? I could always change it next time."

When Elena automatically looked up, surprise clearly written on her features, he said with some exasperation, "We're supposed to be _dancing_, Elena. You know, that thing where I get to come real close to you, and it's allowed since it's all part of the dance?" While he was talking, he had been steadily pulling her closer, and closer, and still closer to his body, until their bodies were almost touching.

When Elena realized this, she gasped and said, "Damon! You can't do this here!"

Damon smirked down at her and answered laconically, "Do _what_ here? If you want to leave and do this in a more private setting, I'm all for it, but we _are_ only going to be dancing, Elena! Or did you have something else in mind perhaps?"

Damon was a bit surprised at Elena's loss of composure. She acted as if she had never danced before, when he knew firsthand that wasn't true. So what made this so special then? He observed the high color on her cheeks and her shallow breathing with a frown. He just hoped she wasn't regretting her decision to turn down Stefan's offer of taking his place.

Carmencita had by now reached them and slowly walked in a circle around them, placing Elena's left hand just so on Damon's upper arm and closing the fingers of her right hand firmly over his. Damon allowed her little adjustments with an indulgent smile and Elena stood up straighter.

Finally Carmencita seemed satisfied: she looked up at Damon teasingly and whispered, "If you get bored with this one, just let me know and I will be more than happy to take her place!"

Elena stiffened at these words. She didn't say anything; she just glared at the brazen woman and blatantly pushed her own body a fraction of an inch closer to Damon's, forgetting for the moment her earlier resistance to do just that.

When she felt Damon's eyes on her, she looked up at him. He quirked an eyebrow and his eyes held an amused glint. He looked as if he knew exactly what she was doing! She felt a flush of embarrassment stain her cheeks, but she didn't back off. If she was in for a penny, she might as well be in for a pound!

Carmencita had moved into the middle of the group and started instructing everybody on the basic steps for salsa. Elena had to grudgingly admit that she did seem to be a very good teacher. She even had the clumsiest of the men trying their best (or maybe that wasn't so surprising, come to think of it?).

Surprisingly enough, it turned out to be Elena who had trouble getting a feeling for the dance. She just couldn't relax into it. She was too conscious of Damon's body not quite pressed to hers to be able to concentrate on the steps, and she found herself continuously stumbling, over Damon's feet, over her own feet, losing the rhythm of the music.

As soon as she let herself get into the salsa rhythm, she lost it again when she felt his leg sliding in between hers, or his arm brushing her breast when he spun her out. She was sensuously aware of every place on her body that came into contact with his, feeling a tingling sensation wherever they touched, and that was definitely in too many places!

Soon enough she was so rattled by her own inability to concentrate that she felt herself getting angry. What was the matter with her? Why couldn't she make this work? It was as if she'd never danced before. She, who had always prided herself on being such a good dancer!

It must be because she was dancing with Damon. But she had danced with him before. At the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant it had felt completely natural to dance with him. Only, she had admittedly been a bit preoccupied at the time with Stefan's unexpected disappearance, and more importantly, they had been keeping a proper distance from one another. Dancing with Damon up close and personal like this felt entirely too intimate!

She kept losing her focus and she knew Damon was puzzled about her behavior. When the lesson was about to end, Elena had to suppress a sigh of relief. It was enough to make her wonder how on earth she was going to go on with the whole dancing contest if Damon's nearness alone affected her like this. She was berating herself for acting like a foolish teenager when Carmencita popped up again and tapped Damon's arm. He released Elena and she quickly took a step backwards.

Carmencita put her hand on Damon's chest, leaned in closer and whispered in his ear (unfortunately loud enough for Elena to overhear), "I am staying with the Lockwoods. I will be here just for _one _night_,_" She smiled at him languidly and added with a suggestive wink, "You are very welcome to stop by and have a _night… cap_ with me."

The shameless hussy, Elena thought, marveling at the Cuban's unabashed invitation for an assignation, and right under her nose! It wasn't as if Carmencita knew for sure that Elena wasn't Damon's girlfriend, did she? Now where did that thought come from?

Elena suddenly had enough: she was angry at herself for overreacting and very irritated that she was apparently so excruciatingly bad at salsa. She turned her back on Damon and Carmencita and hightailed it out of the gym. She closed the door behind her and finally sagged against the wall of lockers around the corner with a moan. Hot tears of frustration welled in her eyes.

A few minutes later she heard the door of the gym opening again and she just knew it would be Damon coming after her. Which meant it would be quite useless for her to run. She closed her eyes but still she felt him approaching and knew the exact moment he was standing right in front of her.

"Elena?" He inquired softly. "Are you alright?"

She opened her eyes. The concern she saw in his eyes was nearly her undoing. Under the overhead fluorescent lights of the hallway his eyes seemed to be almost electric blue.

To keep herself from breaking down, she burst out, "No, I am not alright! Don't you see? I'm obviously not cut out to be a salsa dancer! I'll never be able to get it right. I can't even master the basics!"

Her outburst caused the tears to start running down her cheeks. She leaned her head back to hold them in, but that only caused them to follow a different path and drip in her ears. It was a distinctly unpleasant feeling. She sniffed loudly.

Damon magically produced a snow-white handkerchief and presented it to her. Gratefully, she accepted it and dabbed her eyes. Then she said the first thing that popped into her head, "Why on earth do you carry a handkerchief? It's not like you ever have a cold."

One corner of his mouth quirked up in that lopsided smile of his, and he answered in a teasing tone, "No indeed I don't, Elena dear! Did I neglect to mention that I'm taking an advanced course in chivalry? First rule is to never leave the house without a handkerchief to rescue teary-eyed damsels-in-distress!"

She laughed in spite of herself. Damon's expression turned serious and he said, "Really, Elena, what makes you think you can't dance salsa?"

When she immediately opened her mouth to answer him, he gently put one finger to her lips, silencing her. She swallowed her words and gazed at him with big eyes, uncomfortably aware of his finger against her lips. Suddenly she had the absurd impulse to open her mouth and… No, Elena! What is _wrong_ with you tonight? She scolded herself.

Only Damon seemed caught by the same strange mood as well. He didn't say what he was planning to say; he just stared at his finger against her mouth and slowly replaced it with his thumb, his hand cupping her chin. Then he gently rubbed his thumb over her lips. Elena felt her knees go weak and had to consciously lock them to remain upright.

Suddenly the door of the gym opened again and the other contestants spilled out, laughing and talking, breaking the spell between them. Damon hastily withdrew his hand and took a step back, and Elena blew her nose, just to do something. Only then did she realize she had just used Damon's handkerchief and she looked up at him, startled.

Damon had by now regained his usual aplomb and quipped with a waggle of his eyebrows, "Don't think you're giving it back to me like that! You can just keep it now."

Elena giggled, and just like that, the strange atmosphere dissipated as if it had never been. Elena would wonder afterwards if her mind hadn't been playing tricks on her and she'd just dreamed the whole episode.

Damon felt Elena still needed some reassurance after bungling the lesson, so he said, "Don't you worry about dancing salsa, Elena. You just need to get used to it and practice. It'll all work out just fine. You'll see. Just come by the house tomorrow and we'll start all over again…"

Elena nodded uncertainly.

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><p><strong>AN: Some of you might have noticed I took some poetic liberty with their salsa dancing. Usually you wouldn't have to get that close together, I am well aware of that. It's just that there is salsa dancing and then there is salsa dancing… I think none of you have trouble imagining that Damon's kind of salsa dancing is the dangerously sexy, up close and personal kind, especially when dancing with Elena! It's all in the interest of the story, of course ;)<strong>

**Did you like the dance lesson? Elena probably didn't… Tell me what you thought of it, please! Reviews = love, and I love them!**

**And yes, I'm on Twitter as val_victrix :)**


	6. Having doubts

**AN: So sorry for not updating Elena's anger yet. I'm still a bit stuck there :(**

**About shadowdancing: maybe I should clear up that this story will not be following the storylines of the show for season 2 (so no Klaus, no originals, no sacrifice). I just wanted another fun MF event involving dancing. As far as the evolution of the characters is concerned, I suppose it can be set anywhere post the episode Miss Mystic Falls (they did dance together there), I'd say maybe mid season 2 somewhere… **

**Where did I leave you, dear readers? After the disastrous dancing lesson, Damon was chomping at the bit to get started, but he could have expected Elena to start having serious doubts … **

**Many thanks to my wonderful beta, Shadowfaxangel!**

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><p>When Elena woke up the next morning she was truly relieved it was Saturday. For one thing, she was quite frankly glad she wouldn't normally be seeing Caroline today. She was sure Caroline had wanted to talk last night after the dance lesson, but she'd pleaded a headache (not really a lie at that point) and made her escape as soon as possible. Caroline would undoubtedly have some questions that she wouldn't be comfortable answering.<p>

For another, she felt positively exhausted, since it had taken her several hours of tossing and turning to fall asleep, asking herself if she shouldn't just give up on the whole salsa contest. She knew it was kind of strange that she was contemplating giving up so easily. She did love to dance after all. But this was different, she told herself. If only Damon hadn't been so infernally _good_ at it… they would have been able to laugh and learn together, but now? Her obvious failure in dancing salsa with him made her feel very inadequate. She decided it would never work! And there really was no other reason for her somewhat uncharacteristic decision to give up after only one try. It was almost an afterthought that Stefan too would surely appreciate it if she put a stopper on the whole thing…

That was why she drove to the boarding house in the late afternoon, having made up her mind to tell Damon she was giving up on salsa dancing. She would withdraw from the contest and if he wanted to stay in, maybe he could find someone else to dance with?

She got out of the car and walked into the house, abruptly stopping on the threshold to the parlor. The room had undergone a transformation of sorts. Damon had apparently made his preparations for their 'lesson': all the couches and tables had been pushed up to the wall, leaving the middle of the room empty. Even the carpets had been rolled up and put against the wall, exposing the intricately inlaid wooden floor underneath. He must have finished only recently, because fine dust motes still danced in the late afternoon sunshine that was bathing the room in a diffuse golden light.

Even though she had been expecting Damon to be around, she still jumped about a foot in surprise when his velvet voice purred in her ear, "So, Elena, are you ready to get all hot and sweaty with me?"

She shivered, unsure if it was because of his cool breath against the back of her neck or because of his insinuating words. She turned around, only to find him immediately behind her. Involuntarily she took a step back, forgetting she had been standing on the top of the three steps leading down into the parlor. She lost her balance and started to tip backwards when his hand shot out and he grabbed her arm, pulling her forward again.

Her momentum caused her to fall against him and she grabbed his T-shirt to stay upright. He put an arm around her to steady her. "Well, you are certainly enthusiastic to get your hands on me again," he said in a teasing voice, "Mind you, I'm not complaining!"

Elena flushed at her own clumsiness (and maybe a little because of his words as well?) and stepped away from him, descending the three little steps to get further away from him.

Then she turned around, took a deep breath and blurted, "Damon, I don't think I can go on with this, with the salsa dancing, I mean," She hesitated, glancing at him from underneath her lashes to gauge his reaction.

Damon wasn't exactly surprised at Elena's change of heart. He suspected that yesterday's dancing lesson had been a serious disappointment to her and he knew she had been taken by surprise by his proficiency. He was kind of proud of his expertise, but then again, Elena should know by now that if he took something on, it was with the intention of mastering it as completely as possible. He didn't believe in doing things halfway. And it wasn't as if he had hidden anything from her; she had just taken his boasting to be exactly that: boasting. Which it wasn't, not really.

While he was pondering this, he observed her silently. His searching gaze must have unnerved her, because she took a step back and bumped into the wall behind her.

Elena was indeed getting nervous with the way Damon kept looking at her; his scrutiny was making her feel as if he could see right into her soul (which had her wondering if he really couldn't read minds occasionally).

"Why not?" He finally asked.

Elena burst out, "Didn't you see what happened yesterday? I simply can't do it! I thought I could, but I… you…" It had sounded so much more convincing in her head last night, Elena thought, floundering.

He was at her side in an instant and stood right in front of her, crowding her as usual. There was nowhere left to go because she already had her back to the wall. She swallowed but didn't say anything else.

At last he said quietly, "One setback and already you give up? I hadn't pegged you for a coward, Elena Gilbert!"

She frowned at the accusation and retorted immediately, "I'm not a coward!"

He lifted one eyebrow and challenged her, "Then why are you ready to throw in the towel so soon?"

When she opened her mouth to repeat what she had said earlier, he went on, "Don't give me that nonsense again about not being able to get it right! I know you are a good dancer." His voice softened, "And I think you could be very good. You just need to give it a chance." He paused and finished meaningfully, "Give _me_ a chance to teach you."

He found he really did want to teach her: it wasn't just a ruse to spend time alone with her (that was a nice bonus of course), but it had become a way to show her another side of him (he didn't dare to call it his 'human' side, but it came close).

His eyes stayed focused on hers, unblinking, and she couldn't look away from that intense blue gaze that implored her to say yes. His intensity made her strangely uneasy, as if by agreeing she would be setting things in motion that could have unexpected results. And she was a bit afraid of that. So she said, "But…"

Damon didn't allow her to continue. He couldn't let her think this over too much, or she would find a way to wriggle out of it somehow. He decided to taunt her a bit (always worked with Elena!), "Or is there _another_ reason why you want to back out of this? The real reason, the one I suspect you're not going to own up to?" Not even to yourself, he added mentally.

His assumption came dangerously close to what she herself didn't want to explore in too much detail at the moment, so she hastily demurred, "_No_! What other reason could there be?"

Well, if she really wanted him to be explicit… Damon smiled lazily.

Elena's sense of unease intensified at that smile, because it was a dangerous smile, hinting at things better left alone.

He put one arm on the wall over her head and leaned in closer to her, his body almost but not quite touching hers. Elena felt the tiny hairs on her skin stand up in reaction to the electric current that crackled between them. She pushed her back further against the wall in a futile attempt to put some more distance between them.

His voice in her ear was very low and dark when he murmured, "Mmm… Let's see. It's always possible that you're scared of what might happen if I get real close to you," he demonstrated by moving closer, "or if I touch you," his free hand came up and he slowly trailed his knuckle down the side of her throat, his eyes following its movement hungrily.

She wondered for a crazy moment if he was tracing her carotid artery and thinking of dinner? Or was it another kind of hunger entirely? Were the two ever completely separated for a vampire? That was about as far as her mind got before shutting down.

His eyes came up to her face again and he whispered, "How about if we do get all hot and sweaty? Does the thought make you tremble perhaps?"

Elena couldn't suppress the slight frisson that accompanied the images his words conjured in her mind and she stared at him, mesmerized by his eyes and by the sound of his voice.

She felt herself involuntarily starting to lean into him when he suddenly pulled back and said in an almost businesslike tone, "No. No, surely that can't be the reason. Elena Gilbert wouldn't lie about that, and she was absolutely certain that there wasn't anything between us but friendship!"

Elena blushed. Since she didn't trust her voice enough to speak at that moment, she wordlessly shook her head.

Damon smirked and said blithely, "No, of course not. That's what I thought." He decided to press his advantage ruthlessly, "Then you won't mind going ahead with this and letting me teach you salsa?"

For a moment Elena felt like a mouse that sees the trap irrevocably closing on her. Well, that would teach her to argue with Damon! Still, she was so relieved he wasn't pursuing this touchy matter any further that she was quick to jump on the change of subject, "If you're really sure you can teach me…"

Damon snorted, "I'm so sure I'll even make you a bet, Elena. Give me two weeks and I'll have you salsa dancing in a grand way. Trust me on that."

It gave her a thrill to imagine herself really dancing salsa with him instead of stumbling over her own feet. And so Elena gave in, saying slowly, "If you really think I can do it, okay then."

Damon smiled triumphantly, "And if I succeed, I get to choose your dress for the contest!"

Elena's eyes widened and she protested, "No, Damon. I can just imagine what that dress will look like!"

Damon opened his eyes wide, feigning innocence, "And how would that be?"

Elena laughed at what appeared an incongruous look for his face (Damon, innocent?) and quipped, "Entirely inappropriate, knowing you."

"Elena, Elena! Get your thoughts out of the gutter please," Damon said mock-severely and wagged his finger to her, "I _do_ have a sense of propriety, you know. And although I would love to see you wear the kind of dress you're imagining right now," he lifted his eyebrows and she colored, "I do know what would be appropriate for a dance contest. Give me some credit! So, are we agreed?"

"Hey, and who's going to be the judge of that?" Elena protested, "Don't think I'm letting you decide if you won the bet or not! Especially not if my choice of dress is contingent upon that decision!"

Damon put his hand over his heart and drawled. "You wound me with your distrust, fair Elena!" Then he smiled roguishly and added, "But you are right of course. At least in this instance. So… how about we let Vampire Barbie be the judge of my skills as a salsa teacher?"

"Caroline! Yes, I suppose I could live with that," Elena felt safe knowing that Caroline would surely take her side in this. "Okay Damon, you're on!"

When Damon smiled victoriously, Elena realized they hadn't even discussed the possibility that he might lose his bet…

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><p><strong>AN: So did you like this chapter? I know it was a lot of talking and not so much dancing, but we'll get there! At least I hope so ;)<strong>


	7. Practice steps

**AN: This chapter was a hard one to write: I wanted them to get on with the dancing, but first they kept chattering like magpies, and then Damon didn't comply with my wishes by refusing to dance with Elena! He said she had to get comfortable with the steps first: sure, Damon, as if we care! We're only interested in the whole salsa contest because it makes for sparks flying between you two**** ;-). He's **_**definitely**_** off my free drinks list for the moment! Still, I hope you like it!**

**As usual a big thank you to the best beta ever, Shadowfaxangel!**

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><p>Damon didn't dare give Elena any more time to reconsider, so he held out his hand to her and said, "So how about we get started then?"<p>

Elena looked slightly taken aback, "What? Now?"

Damon nonchalantly lifted one shoulder, "Why not now? You do know that the best thing to do if you fall off a horse is to get back on immediately." He frowned, considering, "Or was that falling off a bicycle? Nah, I don't think so. Not that I am necessarily comparing myself to a horse _or_ a bicycle, but… well, you get my drift, I suppose." Pointedly, he held out his hand again.

Elena looked at his extended hand as if wondering what to do with it. Finally she took it, hesitantly, but she balked when he gently tugged at it to get her to move away from the wall, "But Stefan…"

Damon stopped pulling. He started to sound slightly impatient at her dilly-dallying, "You can't have any pressing engagements with Stefan, Elena. I know for a fact that he won't be back for a while. He was going to get some 'dinner_'_," Elena heard the quotation marks in his words, indicating that Stefan had gone out hunting, "And then he was meeting someone at the Grill."

He looked at Elena expectantly, a slight smile playing about his mouth, because he knew exactly what Elena's next question was going to be.

Elena's brow puckered and she took the bait, "Meeting someone?" Stefan hadn't told her about that!

Damon smirked, "Didn't tell you, did he? Well, well, it seems my little brother is keeping secrets from you. Never thought I'd see the day!"

He laughed when he saw that Elena was irritated about being left in the dark while he obviously knew all about it. He wondered why Saint Stefan had neglected to mention it to Elena: it wasn't exactly top secret information, or at least it wouldn't stay secret for long if you agreed to meet at the only bar/social establishment in Mystic Falls!

Then he mused that Elena was absolutely adorable with her face all scrunched up like that. He couldn't resist tapping her playfully on the tip of her nose with his finger before reassuring her, "Oh, don't worry, Elena! He's just meeting Matt at the Grill! Something about his car. And you know how boys get when talking cars…" He winked at her, "Let's just say I'm not expecting him home any time soon!" Then he lowered his voice and whispered suggestively, "It's only you and me tonight; no Stefan to interrupt us!"

That was exactly what she was afraid of, Elena thought distractedly, but she was not about to boost Damon's ego by admitting that his nearness alone caused her to feel all kinds of funny (the word is 'unwelcome', Elena, she corrected herself instantly) sensations. She replied rather sharply, "There will not be anything to interrupt, Damon! After all, it's only a dancing lesson." But a slight blush stained her cheeks when she remembered yesterday's dancing lesson and her own unexpected (and unwelcome!) reaction to Damon's proximity.

Damon lifted his eyebrows but didn't let go, "Then why be all worried if it's not about what Stefan might walk into when he comes home?" Elena wisely refrained from answering.

Damon pondered that for a moment, "You can't tell me you're really worried about Stefan and what he might be up to, all by his lonesome at the Grill on a Saturday night!"

Damn, why did he have to be like a dog with a bone, Elena thought. But she would let him believe that if he wanted to, since it was so much safer than the alternative.

Damon surprised her then. He sidled up closer to her and tilted up her face so he could look into her velvety brown eyes. She stared at him, wide-eyed, when he told her in a strangely sincere voice, "Because let me tell you, Elena, there's not a man in his right mind that would cheat on you!" He paused and added matter-of-factly, "Well, I know _I_ wouldn't, so I'm sure my brother won't either."

Elena blushed, his soft words causing a violent fluttering in her stomach, as if butterflies had suddenly taken up residence there. She didn't know where to look: his intense blue gaze seemed to pierce her soul.

Damon had only told her what he felt to be true, but he felt her discomfort and released her. Then he took a step back and tried to lighten the mood by teasing her, "Then again, I'm not Stefan! _I _sure wouldn't have left you all alone with my depraved, but incredibly _hot_ brother on a Saturday night…"

Elena chuckled in spite of herself. He was just so full of himself, she thought, but a little voice in her head whispered that he was not exaggerating... She quickly suppressed the little voice and looked away from Damon. Her eyes fell on the couches and tables shoved up to the wall.

"You really are taking this seriously if the look of this room is any indication," She remarked. "It is only a high school dancing contest after all."

Damon had of course noticed her very transparent attempt at changing the subject, but he just shot her an amused glance to let her know he was onto her, before answering, "No contest is _ever_ to be taken lightly. If I decide to participate, it is because I have every intention of winning!"

Elena laughed and said, "What happened to participating is more important than winning?"

Damon rolled his eyes, "Oh, cut it out, Elena! Bad losers undoubtedly invented _that_ particular profundity. Winning is the only thing that matters, since no one ever remembers who came in second."

Elena looked at him then and said impishly, "Well then, if you have your sights set on winning this contest, hadn't we better get started, instead of standing here just talking about it? We're losing precious time!"

Damon let out a disbelieving snort and shook his head. Trust a woman to turn everything on its head: _he_ hadn't been the one turning every stone looking for excuses! But he didn't say anything; he just motioned for her to precede him to the empty space in the middle of the room.

She stopped and looked at him expectantly. Damon smirked and dropped onto one of the couches, lounging there as if he didn't intend to get up any time soon. She looked puzzled and quizzically raised her eyebrows. When he didn't say anything but only raised his own eyebrows in return, she started tapping her foot and demanded, "Well, aren't we going to dance?"

Damon tilted his head to the side as if considering her question before answering, "Aren't you suddenly the impatient one! The answer is no, _we_ are not going to dance today. _You_ are." Elena's mouth fell open, but Damon continued casually, "_I_ will just sit here and observe you and give you pointers and…. Oh, yes, probably make you slightly uncomfortable in the process."

She sputtered, "But… but… shouldn't we be practicing together?" If he was going to be sitting there, looking at her like that, she already knew she was going to be _very_ uncomfortable indeed!

"Can't wait to get your hands on my body again, Elena?" Damon laughed as she gasped in indignation: she was so easily riled and he absolutely relished flustering her. "Don't worry! You'll get your chance next time!"

He did get back up then, but only to walk over to the stereo so he could start the music. He looked at her over his shoulder and remarked, "Today you just need to rehearse the basic steps so you have them firmly in your head before we start on the more complicated moves. Next time we'll get to the actual salsa dancing, I promise! Now take off your shoes."

Elena's mind had been busy wondering why she felt disappointed that today wasn't going to bring any actual dancing (she should be happy that at least there wouldn't be any close bodily contact today… No, Elena, that's forbidden territory!), so she thought she surely must have heard him wrong, "Excuse me?"

"Daydreaming about me already, Elena?" He smirked at her before repeating, "I asked you to take off your shoes. You can't possibly dance wearing those rubber things you call shoes, so you had better do it barefoot until we can find you something suitable."

Elena bent over to undo her shoelaces. She asked, "What do you call suitable?"

When he didn't answer her, Elena looked up to find he had turned from the stereo to openly check out her backside when she bent over to take off her shoes. She blushed furiously and lost her balance, landing on her butt.

Damon finally answered her question, "You should definitely wear heels." Then he grinned, "Mmm, maybe they'd better not be too high though. We don't want you falling over after all. Your balance seems to be a bit off."

He chuckled when she scowled at him from her spot on the floor. Damn him, Elena thought, he knew very well that her falling over just now hadn't had anything to do with her balance or lack of it! She knew she should just keep quiet, but she couldn't resist, "I don't believe it! Were you just checking me out?"

He lifted one eyebrow and nodded. Elena glared at him, and Damon said, "What? Turnabout is only fair after all, and I distinctly recall you checking _me_ out yesterday..."

Damn, Elena thought, she didn't think he'd noticed, since he was dancing with that brazen hussy at the time, but apparently he had been aware of her scrutiny. Because she was sitting on the floor with one shoe in her hand, she threw it at him. He ducked, in time of course, and laughed out loud. The shoe hit the wall and thumped to the wooden floor.

So she pulled off the other shoe and threw it as well. He simply sidestepped and it just flew past him again. "You missed! And now you're all out of ammunition!" he said in a singsong voice, extending his hand to where she was sitting on the floor and hauling her up without any effort at all.

Then he turned back to the stereo and pushed the play button. Salsa music filled the room, and Damon said, suddenly serious, "Okay, Elena. First I'll show you a warm up routine. It's just a very basic salsa move, but it'll familiarize you with the rhythm."

"Do I really need to warm up for this?" She realized she hadn't thought of dancing as an actual sport.

"Yeah," Damon replied, "If you don't, you might feel it tomorrow. Of course, I wouldn't mind giving you a massage to work the kinks out, but I have this funny idea that your boyfriend wouldn't appreciate my efforts!"

Elena wisely refrained from commenting. Damon came to stand in front of her and turned his back to her, so he could show her the steps. It was quite a simple sidestepping routine. The hardest thing to grasp was the rhythm.

She got the hang of it fairly quickly, but as soon as she wasn't concentrating on Damon's feet anymore, she noticed he wasn't just making the moves with his feet. His whole body was moving: his arms were lifted at an angle and his hips sort of tilted with his steps. She focused on his hips and copied his moves as well as she could. She suddenly found herself wondering why she had never noticed before yesterday that he had a very nice ass? Because you have absolutely no business looking at his ass, Elena! She scolded herself. You're just looking at it now to learn salsa. That's right! Damn but it was getting warm in here!

Damon suddenly turned around as if he had felt her eyes on him, making her lose the rhythm. Her eyes flew up to his, because she didn't want to get caught checking him out again.

"Keep going, Elena!" He said, taking a few steps backward, observing the way she moved. Just like he'd thought, she seemed to keep to the rhythm easily, but she needed to loosen up a little. "You've got to shake those hips, Elena. Come on, let loose!"

She made an effort to "shake her hips" as ordered. But as she'd suspected, having his eyes on her made her feel awfully self-conscious. She felt a slight blush creeping over her cheeks: it felt so strange to be dancing like this just for Damon!

He must have noticed her high colour, because he said teasingly, "I'd say you're all warmed up now. Just start doing the basic step and turn you learned yesterday."

He didn't make a move to join her, so she supposed he was serious about the dancing alone part. And indeed he was. For over an hour he made her practice all the basic steps and turns that had been explained yesterday, but unlike yesterday, she found that she could actually perform them quite well. She even forgot about being self-conscious around Damon because he refrained from making any insinuating remarks but just corrected her and explained the steps like a good teacher.

When he stopped the music, saying they had done enough for today, she was genuinely disappointed and surprised to notice that dusk had indeed fallen. She had been having fun, it was going just fine and she had the idea that she could go on forever, so she protested, "Oh, come on, Damon, I don't want to stop just yet!"

"Can't get enough of it, can you?" She perked up when he said that, but he continued, "You've practiced enough for today, Elena. We can always continue tomorrow if you want."

She padded over to him, still barefoot, and looked up at him with beseeching eyes, "Can't we just have _one_ dance?"

He looked down at her with an indulgent smile, and she thought he was surely going to relent, so she wheedled, "One teensy tiny little dance together? Please, Damon?"

But Damon didn't answer her. Instead he looked over her shoulder and drawled, "Well, hello, brother!"

And that was the end of the dance lesson.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope kjewls doesn't mind my (well, Damon) borrowing one of her wonderful words to describe the Grill as the only barsocial establishment in MF… It sounded so very much like Damon that I just couldn't resist! All credit to you, Julie!**

**Reviews are most welcome, or send me a message on Twitter (val_victrix)**


	8. First cracks

**AN: I really want to thank all of you who are faithfully reading and reviewing my story! You make my day! Also many thanks to shadowfaxangel for boosting my confidence enough to ****write Stefan once again! I'm just apologizing already here because this chapter contains no Damon, at least not his hot physical self…**

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><p>While Elena was taking a shower the next morning, she thought about Stefan. Yesterday he had shown up at the end of the dance lesson and he hadn't seemed at all pleased. Admittedly, he had walked in at the worst possible moment, just when she had been asking Damon to dance with her after having practiced alone the whole time!<p>

What surprised her was that Stefan hadn't even waited for her. Before she could say anything, he had turned around and disappeared. Of course Damon's provocative way of greeting him couldn't have improved things. But by the time she'd grabbed her shoes and put them on, Stefan was nowhere to be found. So she had left to go home, expecting him to show up at her house when she got there. But the porch had been empty. As was her room. And he wasn't answering his phone.

She turned off the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around herself and tucking it in so it wouldn't fall off. When she went into her room to pick up her clothes, she was half expecting to maybe find Stefan there, but her room was still empty. So she grabbed her jeans, camisole and flip-flops and disappeared back into the bathroom to throw on her clothes.

When Elena walked back into her room this time, she stopped in surprise. Stefan was sitting on her bed. He looked up when she came in, green eyes inscrutable.

She raised her arms to secure her hair into a ponytail and said carefully, trying to gauge his mood, "Hello, Stefan."

"I came to apologize for yesterday, Elena. I probably shouldn't have walked out like that." He sounded more contrite than angry.

She let out a relieved breath before replying, "Why did you? I looked for you, but I couldn't find you."

"When I came in and found you there with Damon, I just…" He hesitated and looked at his hands.

Elena rolled her eyes, "Stefan, he was teaching me salsa! You know that!"

Stefan's head came back up and he suddenly looked straight at her, demanding, "Why were you begging him to dance with you?"

There it was: she had been afraid he'd overheard those words. But the way he asked the question, almost as if it was an accusation, made her feel she had to justify herself, "I had been practicing my steps alone for over an hour, Stefan. I wanted to try what I had been learning for real, just once. That was why I was asking Damon for _one_ dance!"

Stefan shook his head incredulously. "It sounded more like you were begging for it, Elena! Damon must have loved it!"

Elena said exasperatedly, "It was just for fun, Stefan. You know what Damon is like."

He pressed his lips together before saying, "Yes, I know all too well what Damon is like. The question is: do you?"

"I think I know him too, Stefan. He would not take any of this seriously. It's just the way we talk to each other sometimes," Elena attempted to smooth his ruffled feathers.

Stefan appeared lost in thought for a moment. Then he said, "Yes, I know."

There was a hint of bitterness in his tone. What Stefan knew was that Elena and his brother seemed to have developed a frequency of their own to communicate, leaving others out, even him, by default. "But are you sure he's not taking you seriously? Reading something more into it?"

"He wouldn't, Stefan! I told you before that there is nothing going on between me and Damon. Well, there is friendship of course, but that's all there is. Honestly! Why don't you want to believe that?" Elena asked, feeling oddly as if she was trying to convince herself just as much as Stefan.

"Because it's getting increasingly hard to believe, Elena. There may be nothing more than friendship on your side, but there certainly is more than that on his," Stefan warned.

"Why would that worry you if you trust me, Stefan?"

"It worries me that this dancing lark is going to make him think you feel something for him, Elena. You know he wants more from you than friendship. Are you sure you won't reconsider this whole contest? Or at least reconsider dancing with him?"

"No, Stefan. Had you asked me before yesterday, I would have said yes, because I thought I couldn't do it. But yesterday's lesson taught me differently. Now I know I can do it. And I find I really want to. Can't you understand that?" There was a pleading tone in her voice now.

"I understand, yes. All too well…" He sighed. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it!"

"I hate to point out to you that that is your own fault, Stefan. You had your chance." Elena was irritated that he was bringing that up again_, _because it was making her feel guilty.

"Yes, I know. You don't need to keep rubbing it in." He pushed his thumbs against his temples, trying to calm down, "I suppose I just didn't figure you would go through with it without me. I didn't think you would choose Damon!"

"That's not fair, Stefan. He offered and I accepted, but only after I had asked you. So you really have no right to ask me to stop now, or to ask me to change partners. Because surprising as it may seem, Damon turned out to be a very good teacher."

"I'll just bet he is. It seems he's found another way of trying to seduce my girlfriend," Stefan said, sounding resigned. It was obvious that Elena was not going to cancel this thing or consider him as a partner instead. If only he hadn't refused her the first time: she was right; it was his own fault!

"Don't you trust me?" Elena asked, returning to her earlier question. It hurt that Stefan was apparently so sure that she would give in to Damon at the first opportunity, just because he was teaching her to dance.

"I do, Elena," Stefan answered, but to Elena's ears he sounded doubtful (or was that just her guilty conscience imagining things?).

After a slight pause, he continued more heatedly, "I just wish I could trust my brother not to try and get under your skin. Because when that happens, I'm not sure you can even trust yourself. I really do want to trust you, Elena."

"_When_ that happens? You _want_ to trust me? Well, thank you for that vote of confidence!" Elena was miffed by his vacillating answer. But she was well aware that her growing annoyance was also due to her insecurity about her own reaction to Damon lately; and it put her firmly on the defensive, "Why are you making such a fuss about this? It's only dancing, Stefan!"

Stefan was silent for a few moments. He looked at her and she felt decidedly uncomfortable under his scrutiny. It took all her efforts not to fidget. Then he said just two damning words, "Is it?"

Elena threw up her hands and retorted, "_Fine_! Be that way!" She turned around and stomped out of her room, wondering if she was simply leaving or if she was actually fleeing from him…

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><p><strong>A<strong>**N: Just to be obnoxious, but did anyone notice the reference to Shadowsouls in this chapter?**

**I'm sorry that there was only Stelena in this chapter (but I did keep it short LOL)… I find it really hard to write Stefan: it's not that I dislike him as such, it's just that he doesn't really talk to me the way Damon does. Let me know what you thought of it, please, or find me on twitter ****val_victrix**


	9. Of blood bags and salsa

**AN: I'm so happy that still so many people fav/alert or especially review my story! Love you guys! Also _grazie mille_**** to Shadowfaxangel who's patiently reading and replying to my long e-mails ;)**

**And here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

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><p>Elena went straight over to the boarding house. She felt frustrated. She was going to show both Stefan and Damon that she was serious about dancing and that dancing was truly all that was going to happen! Damon had better not start with his suggestive remarks again because he would be getting an earful from her!<p>

She got out of the car pulling her camisole off her back, and sighed irritably. She had only just come out of the shower and already she wanted to take another one. It was only May, but the temperatures had been steadily rising for the last week and it was already quite warm in spite of still being fairly early in the morning.

She let herself in and marched into the (temporarily redecorated) parlor. Damon was there, lounging on the couch like an indolent black cat, leisurely slurping his breakfast (if one could call it that) from a blood bag, looking for all the world as if he was just having a ruby red smoothie, straw and all!

"I wish you wouldn't drink it like that!" Elena said curtly, gesturing at his bag-and-straw.

Damon stopped drinking. "And a _good_ _morning_ to you too! How would you prefer me to drink it then?" He inquired, contemplating the bag in his hand with a frown.

Then he looked up at her, and she had the distinct impression he was looking at her neck when he continued, "Although I have to admit that it does taste better if I drink it from…"

She held up her hand. "_Stop_! Don't even say it! That's just gross!" Was he just going to calmly sit there and tell her he preferred to have his blood straight from the vein? Or maybe it was time for the very first innuendo of the day and he was referring to _her_ vein?

Damon lifted his eyebrows and said, sounding very amused, "Drinking from a glass is gross? Etiquette must have changed since I turned into a vampire!"

He laughed when he saw her disgruntled expression. "What did you think I was going to say, Elena? That I preferred to tap your vein?"

She blushed, confirming his suspicion, but she was too mortified to say anything.

Damon looked directly into her eyes and smirked, knowing very well what she'd been expecting him to say earlier. He teased, "I would be lying if I said that I wouldn't love to taste you, Elena!"

Well, that certainly sounded ambiguous, Elena thought crossly, opening her mouth to protest, but Damon went on, "But I'm a well-behaved little vampire now; didn't you know that? I only get to drink my blood straight from the source these days if it's consensual." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

The way he drew out that last word, his voice mellow like warm honey, made her think of slick naked bodies writhing on tangled sheets, and Elena felt her own body flooding with heat. Stefan had told her once that many people found it incredibly arousing to have a vampire drink from them during sex, which she had found hard to believe at the time. But if her own reaction now was anything to go by, she might very well be one of those people! Still, Damon had no business knowing that, so she locked away the thought in a dark corner of her mind and mentally threw away the key.

"I need you to stop doing that, Damon!" She told him firmly.

"Doing what, Elena?" He asked blandly, cocking one eyebrow.

"Stop suggesting those things to me!" She said emphatically. She was certain that she wouldn't be so rattled around him all the time if he would just refrain from making those impertinent remarks and insinuations!

"Who's suggesting anything? I was just informing you of my house_-_trained state," He widened his eyes, acting all innocent, "If you want to read anything into that, it's your own overly active imagination, I'm afraid…"

"Damon, I mean it!" Elena stamped her foot in frustration. She wasn't going to let herself be baited by Damon anymore! "I told Stefan that he could trust me and that we were only dancing together, nothing more!" Her eyes widened a fraction: she had _not_ intended to let him know about that!

"Why would you need to tell Stefan that?" Damon narrowed his eyes, "Did he say something to you?"

He thought that sounded suspiciously as though Stefan and Elena had been at odds about her dancing with him already. Stefan should know how stubborn Elena could be: telling her she couldn't do something would only have the effect of pushing her right into it. If Stefan was smart, Damon thought, he would just keep his mouth shut. Taking her up on it would only serve to drive Elena into the defensive and away from Stefan. Wait, why was that a bad thing? It was what _he_ himself wanted after all.

Elena was backpedalling quickly. "_No_! Did he say something to you?"

Great, Elena thought, all she needed now was Stefan trying to talk to Damon about this. If Stefan was smart, Elena thought, he would just keep his mouth shut. Trying to warn Damon off would only serve to make him even more insufferable, for if he smelled discord between them… Infuriating Salvatores! They were both out to drive her completely crazy!

She really didn't want to think about it any further: she was here to dance! That's why she didn't wait for Damon's answer, but snapped instead, "Just forget about it already! Are we gonna dance or what?"

Damon looked at Elena's high colour and at her eyes shooting fire and sketched her an exaggerated bow, thinking that she really was magnificent when she was angry, "Your every wish is my command, milady."

He walked to the stereo, and Elena noticed he wasn't wearing any shoes, so she deduced they were going to practice barefoot again. She looked rebelliously at his back and kicked off her flip-flops. She hadn't wanted a repeat performance from last time and had chosen her footwear accordingly (besides, it was too warm to wear anything else). But he didn't give her any indication that he'd noticed; he just pressed play and the song they had used for the warm up routine sounded from the speakers.

The warming up was short, and very soon Damon turned to Elena and said matter-of-factly, "I see you're still angry."

Her eyes flashed up to his face and she answered tersely, "Who says I'm angry?"

Damon shrugged and said, "It's kind of rolling off you in waves, sweetheart." She narrowed her eyes at the endearment, but decided to let it lie when Damon went on, "But that's good, you know. Just use it, pour it all into the dance!"

Elena grumbled to herself that he needn't think he was going to succeed in unbalancing her this time, whatever he said!

She was so busy silently fuming about Damon's impertinence and Stefan being a busybody that she hardly noticed Damon approaching her and putting his arms around her, taking care not to come too close. Such was her distraction that she was dancing the steps she had learned yesterday without giving it too much thought. Damon wisely remained silent; he just guided her through the basic steps and turns with a sure hand. He could tell Elena was gradually calming down, her anger dissipating when she started to relax into the dance. She had been practicing the basic steps so thoroughly yesterday that her feet seemed to somehow know the steps better than she did.

At first she was just following his lead, mechanically stepping and turning. But as one song seamlessly melted into another, she started to really listen to the music and feel the sensuous pull of the rhythm. As her feet stepped more securely, she attempted to give her body more of a sway. She wasn't really looking at Damon; her eyes were fixed somewhere below his face, unseeing, as she listened and learned, totally absorbed.

He was content to just let her find her dancing legs for a while, and then decided to try something new. Instead of just leading her into a turn she knew, he expertly guided her into a slightly different figure. She looked up in surprise, her concentration broken. But she did try to follow him and if she fumbled it a bit at the end, it wasn't badly done at all. He smiled encouragingly.

It was just as he'd thought: she had a natural talent for dancing, and she made a good partner. Her body was soft and supple in his arms and she had no trouble following the up-tempo salsa rhythm. The exertion combined with the warmth of the day was making her perspire though, and his mind drifted to other pleasurable activities that involved bodies and rhythmic movement and _most_ _definitely_ sweat… activities that he would gladly engage in with Elena as his partner.

Elena was marvelling at how well it seemed to go today. Now that she had forgotten to be intimidated by Damon's proximity, salsa seemed to agree with her very well indeed! Of course that thought was all it took to set her thinking about him again, and about all the reasons that it hadn't worked so well two days ago. Suddenly she became aware of the rock hard muscles rippling under her hands and of her body moving in sync with his. Her eyes flickered up to his face, only to drop the instant she felt him looking down at her.

Damon put a damper on his salacious thoughts when he felt Elena tensing up slightly in his arms and wondered at the cause of it. She had been doing extremely well, and now she had lost her focus from one instant to the next. He would almost think she was a mind reader, the way she avoided his eyes!

Elena forcibly reined in her errant thoughts and concentrated on the steps and the new figures Damon was inserting in between. They were just slight variations on the steps she already knew, so she kept up, if not effortlessly, then at least without too much trouble. She found that focusing on dancing kept her wayward thoughts in line, well, more or less in line. The end of the song approached, and she suddenly felt his hand on her hip and his other hand bringing up her arm and spinning her, spinning her, on and on, until she dizzily fell over her own feet, stumbling into his chest.

Automatically his arms came around her to steady her and she looked up at the same moment he looked down, their lips only inches apart. Their eyes locked, her wide-open eyes the colour of dark chocolate fixing on his intense, cobalt blue gaze.

The song came to an abrupt end, but neither Damon nor Elena noticed the sudden silence. Elena was too busy drowning in the deep, sea blue depths of his eyes, and Damon's nostrils flared, the heady, intoxicating scent of Elena so close to him making him weak with wanting her.

The sound of her own harsh breathing pulled Elena back to reality a moment later and she jumped away from Damon with a gasp. His hands followed her as she took a step back, as if entreating her to come back; then he let them drop to his sides.

Damon had to clear his throat before he could say quietly, "I think we've done enough for today, Elena. How about we continue Wednesday afternoon?"

Elena nodded, not trusting her own voice. She grabbed her flip-flops and rushed out, hoping to avoid bumping into Stefan. Thank god for school tomorrow! She'd never thought she'd ever say that, but she needed to put some distance between herself and Damon stat or she wasn't going to be able to withstand the heat…

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><p><strong>AN: Next chapter probably up on Monday... At the moment, I'm really on a roll with this story, and I am actually a few chapters ahead! Yay! Must be due to all those great readers sending me positive energy! Send me some more! Review please!<strong>


	10. Into the woods

**AN: I'm so glad you guys liked the dancing, and the banter of course! Another big _merci beaucoup_ to Shadowfaxangel for her wonderful comments!**

**So here's the next chapter... Enjoy!**

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><p>It was unseasonably warm for the time of year, and it hadn't rained in over two weeks. Wednesday had dawned warm and stifling; the air was still and muggy as if it was waiting for the inevitable thunderstorm. Even the slightest movement had Elena breaking out in a sweat. She had donned a thin summer dress, white embroidered with big flowers, having decided that morning that wearing jeans would definitely be unbearable today (it had absolutely nothing to do with her dancing lesson this afternoon! No, sir!)<p>

As she entered the boarding house, she surreptitiously wiped her brow and blew out a breath, "God, I feel so hot!"

Damon appeared at her elbow, walking softly on bare feet, and drawled, "Feeling hot, are you? Well, I am cool as a cucumber, so you're welcome to cuddle up to me and cool off…" His voice sounded kind of muffled for a moment, "I wouldn't mind acting as your very own, person-sized icepack, you know!"

Elena turned around, intending to swat him for totally ruining her innocent remark, but her arm halted in mid-air.

Damon had apparently just taken a shower and was only halfway dressed. He wore black drawstring pants that were in danger of falling right off and no shirt. He was in the process of pulling a white tank top over his head that he must have stolen from Stefan, because she had never seen Damon wear one of those things before (and Stefan did have a closet full of them after all).

Still, it looked very nice on him, fitting tightly over his chest and abs and displaying his muscular shoulders and arms to advantage. Elena swallowed and forced her eyes up to his face, in time to catch him cocking an eyebrow at her. It gave her the feeling he could read her mind all too well; either that, or else he just excelled at guessing X-rated thoughts about his person!

Damon didn't have to be a mind reader to guess at Elena's thoughts: she had a very expressive face and her eyes gave away much about what she was thinking. Still, the way she gave him a thorough once-over was very flattering, even if she was hardly the first woman to do so. Not that he was all that vain, he thought; he was just used to the looks he had been born with and he had always felt quite at ease with his own body. Becoming a vampire when he had, had guaranteed that he kept the impressive physique of a 24-year-old trained soldier of noble birth who had never really known hardship, lack of food or grave illness during his life.

While ruminating on this fact, he unconsciously brought one hand up to comb through his still-wet hair and try to get a semblance of order to it. Elena licked her lips when she followed his movements and had a flashback to one of those diet coke commercials that had been popular a while back, featuring some cute guy that had all the girls at school drooling. If Damon ever needed to make some quick cash, she thought mischievously, he could certainly star in one of those commercials, preferably wearing as little as possible: sales would definitely soar!

Or maybe he would prefer an ad for bourbon or whisky (that was probably more fitting since she had never seen him drink anything else anyway… well, apart from blood of course, duh): there was one where the guys just wore Scottish plaids (and nothing else) that would definitely work for him. She smiled slightly at the idea.

"Penny for your thoughts, Elena?" Damon was intrigued by the Mona Lisa smile that was playing over her lips.

"Oh, they are worth infinitely more than a penny!" Elena retorted, making it clear that she wasn't going to expand on that. She forced her disobedient brain to focus on Damon's face and pushed all of her errant thoughts to the back of her mind. She had been struggling with plenty of those these last few days, and she'd had enough! "So, are we dancing?"

"No, we aren't," He smirked when her face fell. "Yet!"

Damon's eyes drifted down to her thin summer dress. He pursed his lips and remarked, "Nice dress! Can I just say that I really appreciate you wearing that for me?"

This time Elena really swatted him. Incorrigible must be Damon's middle name!

A smile flashed across his face, there and gone, before he said more seriously, "Let's just get out of here today, Elena. It's too warm and the house is too stuffy for dancing. Let's take this outside and work on some new steps."

Elena was quick to agree to that. It sounded better than trying to get anything done in here. She grabbed her bottle of water and signalled she was ready to go, "Where do you want to go then?"

"Into the woods. There's a grassy clearing near the old house that will do very well for our purpose." Damon held the door open for Elena. They walked in companionable silence until they reached the clearing.

After looking around, Elena deliberately sat down and started taking off her strappy sandals. She wasn't going to have Damon make her topple over again, and she had forgotten she should've worn her flip-flops since those were so easy to remove. But she had learned her lesson. She looked at him defiantly from her spot on the ground, wondering if he saw through her strategy.

He obviously did, for he looked down at her with a smirk and said, "What is it you're trying to avoid by sitting down, Elena? Are you afraid of losing your balance or of me looking at your-"

She threw her water bottle at him to silence him. He caught it deftly and laughed. "I've traded up in the world! At least I'm getting water bottles now instead of shoes!"

"Don't crow victory too soon!" Elena growled mock-angrily, "I still have two shoes I can use as missiles!" She held them up threateningly, but couldn't really suppress a tiny smile.

Damon raised both arms up in the air to signal surrender and said theatrically, "Not the shoes! I willingly surrender myself to you, fair lady! I beg you to show mercy to a poor defenseless vampire!"

"Defenseless, my ass!" Elena retorted, standing up again and brushing some leaves off her dress. "I am the poor defenseless _human_ here!"

Damon smiled. He looked her up and down unhurriedly, making Elena squirm uncomfortably, and murmured, "Oh, Elena, you definitely have other weapons at your disposal, and I for one wouldn't mind you slaying me with them!"

Elena blushed and hastily changed the subject. "Shall we get on with dancing then?"

Suddenly her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Damon! We didn't bring any music! How are we going to practice now?"

"Don't worry, Elena. We need to start teaching you some new moves first. We can do that without any music. And further on, you'll just need to use your imagination! I'm sure it's up to the task!" He winked at her.

Elena scowled. How would he know what her imagination could or couldn't do? Still, the way it had been bothering her the last few days with memories and images of Damon, it would surely be up to the task of providing her with some imaginary music!

"Notice that I am _not_ telling you to sing," Damon said with a wink, "I wouldn't want to scare away the wildlife around here, because how else will my brother find enough to eat?"

"Notice that I am not telling _you_ to sing either," Elena retorted, "I wouldn't want to ruin my hearing permanently and I forgot to bring my earplugs."

They both laughed at that, knowing all too well that neither one of them could sing worth a damn. Completely in harmony with each other, they started practicing.

After a while Damon demonstrated some new moves and started explaining. It looked complicated as hell, and Elena was soon trying to follow his directions, not always with the same amount of success. Still, the dance gradually started taking shape and form in her mind as they practiced. When Damon was explaining about how to execute the steps better, her eyes drifted over his face. She couldn't help but notice he had very long eyelashes, which was totally wasted on a man!

Following that, her gaze strayed to his imminently kissable lips and she was just wondering if they would feel as soft as they looked when he whispered, "What are you thinking about?"

Dreamily she answered him, "I was thinking about your lips…"

When she heard herself saying that, she snapped out of it and hastily amended, "I meant _tips_…. I was thinking about your tips!"

She blushed furiously when the corners of Damon's (imminently kissable!) mouth turned up and he purred, "_Tips_, huh? Funny, that wasn't what I heard at all. I must have misheard you! Still, in case I didn't: you have my permission to think about my lips anytime you like."

He held open his arms and she stepped into them, "Now, let's do this again."

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><p><strong>AN: Yes, I know, I'm evil breaking the chapter here, but I'll be sure to post the rest of this chapter on Thursday. You know I thrive on your comments, so please review! My twitter is val_victrix<strong>


	11. Dancing in the rain

**AN: ****Thank you for the marvelous reviews on last chapter, and thanks Shadowfaxangel for her wonderful comments! I adore you guys!**

**And so, more half-naked Damon on general request ;-) Enjoy!**

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><p>Damon and Elena were whirling around the clearing when suddenly there was a tapping sound overhead. When Elena looked up, a raindrop hit her face, then another one. The tapping sound of raindrops on leaves quickly became a rustling sound as the rain started to come down in earnest in one of those warm and gentle summer rains.<p>

Damon stopped dancing as soon as the first drops fell, but Elena pulled him back with a smile and said, "Let's try dancing in the rain!" She hummed the music of the song from the movie 'Singing in the Rain'.

Damon looked at her quizzically for a moment before complying. They went on dancing together in an exaggerated way, smiling and finally laughing like loons while the rain spattered around them, wetting their hair and clothes and turning the grass slippery. Dancing turned into just spinning round and that turned into slipping and sliding on the wet grass. Damon seemed more surefooted than Elena and she had to grab him several times to keep herself from inelegantly and unceremoniously meeting the forest floor.

When the rain started falling harder still, Damon slowed down and regretfully signalled Elena that they had better go. "Come on, Elena, if we hurry, we'll be home before our clothes are completely soaked through!"

But Elena smiled and tilted her head up with a rapt expression, letting the raindrops splash on her face, "No, let's just stay for a minute longer," she pleaded, closing her eyes, "It's been so long since I've had the chance to just enjoy the rain like this! Did you know I used to do this with Jeremy when I was little?" She was smiling, lost in the memory.

It was good that Elena wasn't expecting a reply because Damon wouldn't have been capable of giving one. He just stood there in the pouring rain and gazed at her, entranced by this slip of a girl that was a fraction of his age. She looked happy, he thought, and more beautiful than ever before, even though rain was running down her face in a parody of tears, and her hair was starting to look like rats' tails, clumping together and starting to drip.

Involuntarily, his eyes followed the path of the raindrops that hit her cheeks. They ran down her throat and over her collarbone to disappear into the hollow between her breasts. The thin white dress she wore was low-cut and quickly becoming transparent, outlining the contours of her white underwear against her olive skin.

He ran the tip of his tongue over his upper lip before forcibly tearing his eyes away from the tempting vision that was Elena's body. She simply took his breath away. When his eyes travelled back up to her face, he noticed Elena's eyes were open now and that she was watching him looking at her. But she didn't say anything to make him stop looking.

The way Damon was drinking her in made Elena feel immensely vulnerable and very powerful at the same time. When their eyes met, she swallowed convulsively. Her breathing quickened as she saw that desire had darkened Damon's eyes from a summer sky to a twilight shade of blue. The butterflies came out full force in her belly and she had to avert her eyes.

She made the mistake of letting her gaze travel lower, and she couldn't help but notice how his wet tank top was clinging to his body, doing a better job of revealing his powerful chest and abs than of hiding them. The water gliding off his arms made his skin look as if it had been oiled, and suddenly she was simply _dying_ to touch him. As if in a trance, she slowly took a step closer to him and extended her hand to dreamily ghost her fingertips over the wet material spanning his chest.

Damon felt her touch burning through the thin cotton of his soaked tank top, searing his skin, and tried to restrain himself from reaching for her and pulling her into his arms. But when she trailed her hand down to his abs, her eyes avidly tracking the path of her fingers, he groaned her name, "_Elena_…"

It was meant to be a warning, but it came out as a needy moan. He was slowly coming apart under her gaze: if she didn't stop touching him now, he wasn't going to be able to keep from kissing her…

Elena looked back up at him with those big eyes, her pupils dilated so far they almost concealed the velvety brown irises, and Damon felt himself closing the distance between them as if she was pulling him to her by an invisible string.

His hands tangled into her hair and he brought her face closer for a kiss. He did so slowly, giving her every opportunity to break away, but she didn't. She was still gazing into his eyes when their lips met. He meant it to be a chaste kiss and so he kept his mouth closed and just touched his lips softly to hers. But Elena gasped at the contact, her mouth opening slightly, and he couldn't contain himself any longer. The tight rein he had been keeping on himself broke and he growled deep in his throat.

Then his mouth hungrily claimed hers, tasting, savouring, possessing. He was half expecting Elena to protest at this point, but her arms slid upwards to circle his neck and she clung to him, returning his kiss just as passionately.

One of his hands slid out of her hair, following the line of her body until it rested on her lower back and he could pull her closer still. Her soft, pliant body moulded itself to his hard and unyielding one as if it had done so a thousand times before.

Time froze.

Suddenly there was a loud clap right over their heads that startled Damon and Elena out of their suspended moment in time. The tree lined clearing and the pouring rain reappeared, and they simultaneously broke the kiss. Damon released Elena, and she took a step backwards, breathing heavily, her eyes as big as saucers.

Damon wondered ruefully if she had just remembered Stefan's existence and prepared himself for some sort of slap, either of the physical or of the verbal kind, but Elena was totally blown away by the kiss. She was still staring at him as if she'd never seen him before when there was a flash and immediately after, another loud crack.

Damon looked up at the skies and seeing the roiling grey clouds, he remembered vaguely that he had heard thunder before. He looked back at Elena and yelled over the noise, "It's a thunderstorm, Elena. We need to get out of here as soon as possible!"

Only then did Elena realize the deafening noise was the thunder rolling right overhead, but she didn't seem to be able to move. She slowly bent to look for her shoes, but Damon stopped her by raising his voice once more to get over the cumulative noise of thunder and pouring rain, "Leave them!"

When she looked at him askance, he grabbed her hand and pulled her along, shouting, "The storm is right over our heads. We have to hurry and find shelter as soon as possible! It's too dangerous in the woods: you could get hit by lightning!"

So they started running, both of them barefoot, but the forest floor outside of the grassy clearing was covered with broken branches and stones, and Elena yelped when she stubbed her bare toe on a rock. Damon stopped and quickly scooped her up in his arms, beginning to run faster, at vampire speed.

Lightning hit a tree just behind them, and Elena screamed and hid her face against his shoulder, clinging to him. In spite of everything that had just happened (or maybe because of it?), she felt completely safe there.

At vampire speed the house wasn't that far away, and Damon reached it without further incident. When he leaped up the stairs to the porch, a thoroughly wet and dishevelled Elena clasped firmly against his chest, the front door swung open as if by magic. But Elena already knew that magic didn't have anything to do with it. She looked up…

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><p><strong>AN: so sorry this was short, but it was intense, I hope... Please let me know if you liked it? I'm having a bit of writers' block further along in this story at the moment :( <strong>

**my twitter is val_victrix ;)**


	12. The third degree

**AN: I got like 20 great reviews on last chapter! That's a personal best for me! Awesome! *dances with joy* Thank you so much to all of you who have been reading and reviewing and alerting, even if I do try to thank my all my reviewers personally ;-) Also a big thanks to Shadowfaxangel: your suggestions for this chapter were most assuredly welcome!**

**I wanted to let you know that Bianka (Bibi 13ca) asked if she could write an alternative smut-ending to Dancing in the rain. Thanks, honey, I'm truly flattered that you would even want to do that! I got a sneak peek already and it looks great! I'll be sure to let you guys know when she's posted it! **

**Just a warning… after last chapter, everything that could possibly follow, would obviously be… well… anticlimactic. But I tried my best nonetheless… Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Previously in Shadowdancing …<em>

At vampire speed the house wasn't that far away, and Damon reached it without further incident. When he leaped up the stairs to the porch, a thoroughly wet and dishevelled Elena clasped firmly against his chest, the front door swung open as if by magic. But Elena already knew that magic didn't have anything to do with it. She looked up…

… and saw Caroline's blond curls. She breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't Stefan who had opened the door.

"What happened? Is Elena hurt? Why are you carrying her? Where…?" Caroline fired off a barrage of questions, but Damon just looked at her, silencing her with one look. She shut her mouth with a snap, curiosity clear in her eyes.

Damon stepped across the threshold and slowly lowered Elena to the floor, sliding her down his body but keeping one arm around her shoulders to steady her. He looked at her concernedly and asked: "Are you okay? I'm sorry for the rush, but it was too dangerous to linger there in the woods with the thunderstorm and all…" Dammit, he was babbling!

He stopped himself from saying anything more, but Elena didn't seem to notice: she just nodded gratefully and turned reluctantly to face Caroline.

Caroline's eyes widened when she got a good look at Elena's bedraggled figure in the – by now hardly covering anything – soaked white dress, and she immediately took charge. She was at Elena's side in an instant and put an arm around her shoulders, pushing Damon's arm away with a withering look. "Come on Elena, let's get you out of these wet clothes and into the shower. You look like you could use it!" She eyed Elena's dripping hair and guided her up the stairs in the direction of Stefan's room.

Elena balked when she noticed where they were going and whispered, "Caroline?"

Caroline continued walking and said in answer to the question Elena hadn't asked, "Stefan isn't here, Elena. The house was empty when I arrived. I'll stay with you if you want."

Elena nodded appreciatively and followed Caroline into Stefan's room. When they passed by the long standing mirror, Elena automatically glanced at it and halted abruptly, her eyes going round. She exclaimed, "Caroline! My dress… it's gone completely transparent!"

Caroline nodded matter-of-factly and said, "Hmm. I did notice that, yes. I take it you didn't just get wet when rushing for the house?"

Elena closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. "No," she mumbled, "It started raining some time before we left for the house…"

"Okay. Normally I'd say that you would certainly have made a conquest of whatever guy was with you if he caught a glimpse of you like that, but I don't think it'll make much of a difference where Damon is concerned."

Elena gave Caroline a warning look, but Caroline shrugged and said, "Oh, please, Elena! Don't be coy! That you don't want to hear it said out loud doesn't make it any less true. It doesn't take a genius to see that the guy is totally head over heels for you!"

Elena pressed her lips together but didn't say anything; she just walked into the bathroom. She turned on the shower and mechanically stripped off her wet dress and underwear, trying not to think of that timeless moment in the woods. But when she looked in the mirror for just a moment, her face looked different: upon closer inspection her eyes seemed bigger and her lips were kiss-swollen. She concluded that she looked thoroughly kissed, which was exactly what she had been, of course. She stepped into the steaming shower, letting the hot water pelt her back. However much she tried to block out all thought, the kiss kept replaying again and again in her mind. She leaned her head back against the wall and sighed.

When she came out of the bathroom, tucking the towel firmly around her body, Caroline was sitting on Stefan's bed, impatiently awaiting her return. She looked up at Elena and said, "So, are you going to tell me what you were doing out there in a thunderstorm?"

Elena sank down on the bed and told Caroline about the idea to go practicing in the woods, and that they had been dancing when the rain started.

Caroline pursed her lips and remarked, "But Elena, it was raining for nearly an _hour_ before the thunderstorm even started. You can't tell me you were so far away that it took you that long to get back to the house, especially with Damon carrying you."

Elena looked down at her hands and said quietly, "So maybe we didn't head out for home immediately. I just wanted to dance in the rain for a while…"

Caroline raised an eyebrow and repeated, as if stating a fact, "You wanted to dance in the rain."

She paused, seeing in her minds' eye the picture of Damon and Elena frolicking in the rain, getting thoroughly wet, and said shrewdly, "How very _romantic_, Elena. And you didn't hear the thunderstorm coming in?"

Elena blushed, averting her eyes so she wouldn't have to see the knowing look on Caroline's face, "I suppose not. We must've been too distracted to pay it any attention."

"Too distracted to hear the thunderstorm of the decade? Must've been some _distraction_! What were you doing, Elena? Just dancing, or was it something else?"

Elena looked up at Caroline then, her eyes desperate. She whispered, "We… we kissed, Care. I honestly don't know how it happened. But it did!" She sniffed, and Caroline pulled Elena into her arms to comfort her, "Shh, it's okay."

Elena pulled away again, dashing her hand over her eyes, and said emphatically, "No, it's not okay, Caroline. We were dancing, and then we were _not_! It was like I just couldn't resist him!"

Caroline looked at Elena and said ruefully, "Well, if there's anybody who can relate to that – the not being able to say no to Damon part, I mean - it would be me, wouldn't it? Been there, done that, wouldn't even have known what happened if I hadn't grown pointy teeth myself. Are you sure he didn't compel you?"

Elena lifted her eyebrows and pointed to the vervain-filled necklace that was still clasped around her neck. "If only it was that simple. God, how on earth am I going to keep dancing with him now?"

Caroline looked surprised, "You're still going through with the dancing contest? With Damon?"

Elena said resolutely, "Yes. It's so much fun, Caroline."

She caught the amused look on Caroline's face and clarified, "The _dancing_, Care! I'm getting better and I've found that I really like it now."

"And that has absolutely nothing to do with the teacher?" Caroline wanted to know, arching an eyebrow in disbelief.

Elena hesitated for a fraction of a second too long before shaking her head, "No. I've always loved to dance; you know that! And now I'm learning a whole new dance and I'm not ready to quit just yet."

She looked at Caroline again and said, sounding determined, "I'll make sure it won't happen again! I'll just have to tell Damon that it was a mistake."

"And was it? A mistake?" Caroline inquired, playing devil's advocate.

Elena fidgeted and said, "It _has_ to be! We were just caught up in the spur of the moment. Like you said, it was kind of romantic, the dancing in the rain and getting all wet. I'm sure he'll understand."

Caroline looked doubtful, "Will he? You're kind of playing with his feelings here, aren't you?" She rolled her eyes in self-disgust, "I can't believe I just expressed worry for _Damon's_ feelings!"

"We're both adults, Care," Elena stated, "We can keep practicing salsa without giving in to those… urges, even if it might be awkward at first. Those were very strange circumstances out there in the woods, and I'll just have to see to it that it won't happen again."

"Then I take it you're also _not_ going to tell Stefan?" Caroline wanted Elena to be clear on the consequences of her decision.

Elena clapped a hand to her mouth and moaned, "Stefan! Oh, God!"

If Caroline thought it was strange that Elena only now seemed to remember her own boyfriend, she didn't let on.

Elena said, trying to sound reasonable, "Well, I can't tell him, can I? I could never go on dancing with Damon if I do."

She was silent for a moment. Then she let herself fall backwards on the bed dejectedly and sighed, "Why am I making such a godforsaken mess of things, Care? I honestly don't know up from down anymore." She lifted her eyes towards Caroline, and continued miserably, "How could I let Damon kiss me like that when I love Stefan? There's got to be something seriously wrong with me!"

Caroline was quietly observing Elena, and said, "Well, I don't know about that… There's no denying Damon is kind of hot, Elena. And you have to admit the attraction between you two has always been there, simmering beneath the surface. If you ask me, something like this was bound to happen eventually."

Elena frowned and insisted doggedly, "I still say it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't gotten carried away, Caroline. I just wasn't thinking with my head anymore! But now I am! Like you said, he's positively dripping with sexiness and we do have a certain chemistry between us. That doesn't mean I'm so shallow that I have to act on those feelings of lust, right?"

Caroline lifted an eyebrow and said slowly, "I suppose not…" She thought to herself that Elena could dissemble all she wanted, but she wasn't convinced: in matters of love, shouldn't Elena be thinking with her _heart_ rather than with her _head_?

As if Caroline's hesitant answer had settled it, Elena sat back up suddenly and said, "Well, then! I'll just tell Damon that it was a mistake and that it never should have happened in the first place!"

"You'll have to ask him to keep it from Stefan too then." Caroline cautioned, unsure whether she wanted to help Elena in this kind of subterfuge. Still, Elena was her oldest friend…

Elena sighed, "I know. We wouldn't want him taunting Stefan with it and ruining everything. I'm going to have to tell him he'd better forget that kiss ever happened."

Caroline frowned, "Truly, Elena? Do you think that will work? Are _you_ going to forget about it?"

"No, I suppose not," Elena said unhappily. Then she perked up, "But Damon doesn't have to know that, right?"

Caroline shook her head disapprovingly, "He's not going to be happy about it, Elena. And frankly, I couldn't blame him either."

Elena sighed, knowing very well that Caroline was probably right, yet she just couldn't bring herself to acknowledge it. She looked away, her thoughts in complete turmoil...

Caroline was quiet for a minute, and then asked hesitantly, "Was it good?"

When Elena turned her head back and looked up at her, Caroline hastily explained, "I only… He compelled me to not be afraid of him and to do stuff for him, and it's just that I always wondered if he compelled me to like his kisses too…"

Elena just looked at Caroline for a moment, then her eyes got a faraway look and she whispered, "It wasn't just good. It was simply _amazing_…"

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><p><strong>AN: I know many of you were expecting Stefan to be the one to open the door. sorry, I just wanted to surprise you by keeping Stefan out of the equation a little longer ;-)<strong>

**Also I'm sorry if Elena goes slightly OC here. I hope her reasoning doesn't come over _too_ warped, but then we all know that she can persuade herself that the earth is flat where her feelings for Damon are concerned! All I know is that I for one want them to go on dancing together ;)**

**Please let me know if it was ok? That means: review, please? And to continue with the self-promotion: follow me on Twitter val_victrix ;)**


	13. Misery loves company

**AN: So my friend Bianka (Bibi 13ca) just posted her spin-off story to chapter 11 of Shadowdancing (Dancing in the rain): it's called "The reason Lucifer left heaven" and it's great, so go ahead and check it out!**

**As for Shadowdancing… I'm leaving the scene preceding this chapter to your imagination. You read in The third degree (chapter 12) what Elena intended to do, and I really couldn't bring myself to write the ugly scene where she actually did that to Damon. So imagine away, and be prepared to hug and comfort one gorgeous vampire in the aftermath of that conversation… Enjoy!**

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><p>Damon staggered into the only barsocial establishment in Mystic Falls worthy of the name, and sank down on his usual barstool. He leaned his elbows on the bar and signaled the bartender for his customary recipe. When the bartender had splashed a good measure into a tumbler, Damon grabbed the half full bottle and told him to leave it behind. The man shrugged and put the bottle on the bar.

Damon threw the contents of the glass back and poured himself another. He needed it, because he'd been without alcohol since leaving the house all of ten minutes ago, and already the blessedly numbing effects of the alcohol he'd drunk at home were starting to wear off. In the interest of public safety and health, it was better to douse his feelings with large quantities of alcohol after the unpleasant conversation he'd had with Elena. Where did she get off telling him to just forget about one of the most meaningful and romantic kisses of his life, because that's what _she_ intended to do?

Damon was nursing his glass, feeling short changed and maudlin, when someone dropped down heavily on the barstool next to him. Since there was only one person foolish enough to approach him when he was in this kind of mood, he just mumbled, "Ric," and didn't even look up when Alaric greeted him in return.

Alaric's eye fell on the bottle of bourbon standing on the bar before Damon and said, "Good, I see you've got the right idea! I need me some of that please. I have papers to grade and that kind of work hurts too much if I'm sober doing it."

He started reaching for the bottle but Damon grabbed it and pulled it to him possessively, growling, "Hey, get your own brain cell-destroying liquid! This one is mine and I need it. All of it. Possibly even more of it."

Alaric looked him over, noticing the slightly unfocused look in Damon's blue eyes that indicated he was already far beyond his first drink, and asked, "What's wrong? I haven't seen you like this in a long time."

Damon didn't answer at first: he just swirled the bourbon around in his tumbler, staring at it with a frown, as if it might hold a solution to his problems if he looked at it long enough. Alaric shrugged and called the bartender over, ordering himself a stiff drink of his own.

Suddenly Damon swung his head towards Alaric. "Remind me again why we choose to be around women? The only thing they ever do is mess with our heads!"

Alaric lifted one shoulder and said sarcastically, "You're asking _me_? The guy who lives alone in a bachelor pad after his wife left him to willingly join the select society of the undead?"

Damon nodded his head thoughtfully, "Right! I forgot you were fucked with even more than I was. At least when Katherine upped sticks and left, she tried to make me think she was dead even if she wasn't. You didn't even get that distinction from Isobel."

"Are you telling me that this is about Katherine then?" Alaric asked dubiously, gesturing towards the nearly empty bottle of bourbon.

"Nope. It's not about Katherine. Though some days she'd almost make you believe she was," Damon said, sounding slightly bitter.

Alaric raised his eyebrows and guessed, "I take it you're talking about the fair Elena then?"

Damon took a swig of his glass and lifted it, squinting with one eye to peer through the amber liquid at Alaric. He murmured, "Ah, the _fair_ Elena. The name does her justice, my friend. she's my very own Helen of Troy…"

Alaric looked at him quizzically, "Helen of _Troy_?"

Damon barked a laugh, "And you call yourself a history teacher? I should've thought you of all people would know who she was! Tsk, education these days certainly isn't what it used to be!"

Alaric said irritably, "I know who she was."

Then he continued more softly, "I was just wondering what Elena did to deserve the moniker?" Alaric was well aware of his friend's soft spot where his brother's girlfriend was concerned. Elena must have said something harsh to make Damon drown his sorrows like this.

"I was merely illustrating the fickleness of the fair Elena by referring to her beauteous namesake." Damon raised his glass as if making a toast and said, only slightly slurring, "Capriciousness, thy name is woman!"

Alaric was going to say something else, but at Damon's last exclamation, he remarked, "Shouldn't that be _vanity_ thy name is woman?"

Damon waved his hand nonchalantly, "Yeah, well, that too, I suppose. But if we're going to be misquoting the Bard anyway, I'm telling you that I like mine better."

"So, what did Elena do to deserve your censure?" Alaric inquired. He eyed Damon's empty glass and added dryly, "Threaten to send you to an AA-meeting perhaps?"

Damon was silent, intent on pouring the last of the liquor into his glass with the utmost concentration so as not to spill a drop. As soon as the bottle was empty, he looked at it quizzically as if wondering where it had all gone.

When he started contemplating the contents of his tumbler without answering, Alaric turned back to his own drink and mumbled, "Fine! So don't tell me."

Damon kept staring into his glass, and said in a flat voice that almost concealed the hurt he felt, "Nothing much. We kissed and then she told me to forget it ever happened."

Alaric was at a loss for words as he processed Damon's confession. Just to do something, he knocked back his drink so fast that he choked and started coughing. Damon slapped his back, once, and Alaric thought he heard his ribs crack.

He croaked, "What do you mean, you kissed?" He signaled the bartender for a refill.

Damon had a flashback to his brother asking the same question after he'd been kissing the wrong girl on Founder's Day. This time at least he'd succeeded in kissing the right one, but that didn't get him anywhere either apparently. So he looked at Alaric and answered evasively, "Well, Alaric, when two lips pucker and they go…" He pursed his lips to demonstrate.

Alaric interrupted him, rolling his eyes, "Yes, Damon. I'm well aware of the mechanics of kissing!"

He paused and said, "I just meant that she's Stefan's girlfriend. I didn't think you Salvatores wanted to share anything more than your genetic material!"

Damon eyed his empty bottle and then Alaric's full glass. He snatched the glass away and said, "I'm confiscating this. You've had enough to drink, Ric. You're getting insolent."

Alaric didn't pay any attention to his glass switching ownership. "Okay, I can see why you kissed her. But why did she tell you to forget about it?"

Damon shrugged halfheartedly, "It seems that she wants us to keep dancing together without pesky things like mutual attraction getting in the way."

"Dancing?" Alaric looked nonplussed for a moment, then understanding dawned, "Oh, you mean the Mystic Falls Salsa Competition? _You're_ Elena's partner? I saw that she was enrolled for it, but she wrote down Elena Gilbert and Mr. Salvatore. I guess I just assumed she'd be dancing with Stefan."

Damon suddenly looked at Alaric intently, "Are you sure it didn't say _Damon_ Salvatore?"

Alaric shook his head, "No, I'm quite sure it didn't, because I remember wondering why she didn't just put _Stefan_ Salvatore. I guess I know why now."

Damon's thoughts went back to last Friday, when he'd clearly heard Elena telling Stefan that it was toolate for Stefan to take his place since he was already enrolled as her partner, when that clearly hadn't been the case at all. The little minx, he thought. What was she up to? Was she punishing Stefan for not jumping to be her dancing partner? Well, even if that was the reason, it seemed Elena had told at least one little white lie so she could keep dancing with him...

And although he still felt bad about Elena telling him that their kiss had been a mistake and to please pretend it had never happened, Alaric had unwittingly made him feel a lot better about the whole thing. For whatever Elena's reasons were now, she had obviously chosen him over Saintly Stefan before, and that gave him a tiny sparkle of hope that she might do so again in the future.

When he turned back to Alaric, his gaze fell on the big clock over the bar. It was Friday evening, almost 8pm, the time Elena had set for their next dancing lesson! Feeling more optimistic already, he jumped up and slapped Alaric on the back rather forcefully, causing him to almost bite a piece off his glass, and said incongruously, "Got to go. See you later, alligator!"

Alaric looked up in surprise at Damon's suddenly cheerful voice. He was almost tempted to answer with the mandatory repartee to Damon's parting shot, but he repressed the urge (he was an adult after all), and said, "Hey! Where are you off to all of a sudden?"

Damon threw some notes on the bar to pay for his bottle of bourbon and for Alaric's drinks, and said, "I just remembered I've got an appointment to teach someone a lesson…"

He walked out of the Mystic Grill with nearly all of his usual swagger, adding under his breath, "… even if it isn't the lesson she's expecting!"

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><p><strong>AN: To clear up my reference to the Bard: the actual Shakespeare-quote in Hamlet is "Frailty, thy name is woman", which is often misquoted as "Vanity, thy name is woman" (what Alaric is referring to). Damon of course knows his classics and invents his own misquote… ;-)<strong>

**Well, it turned out to be quite hard to write maudlin Damon. Still, I hope you liked it? You know I love hearing back from you guys! So please review or follow me on Twitter val_victrix ;)**


	14. Interludium

**AN: Sorry this is so short, but it is just an interlude, hence the title LOL… No Delena in this chapter, but bear with me today, and Thursday will be better! Thank you, as always, Shadowfaxangel, for your wonderful comments! **

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><p>When Damon came out of the bar, he stopped abruptly, almost bumping into Stefan who was about to come in. He held open the door politely and drawled, "Little brother. This isn't one of your usual haunts, is it?"<p>

Stefan huffed, "No, Damon, as you very well know. I just decided to leave the house since I wasn't invited to the party you seem to be hosting there!"

"Party? What are you talking about?" Damon frowned. Then he squinted at Stefan and peered into his eyes. "You don't look drunk enough to be spouting nonsense." He took a step back and made a face, "Oh, wait, but _I_ am, so maybe this is just a hallucination caused by too much booze. Wouldn't be the first time you had a cameo role in one of those."

Stefan pressed his lips together and ignored Damon's jibe. "I mean your dancing lesson, Damon."

Damon smirked, "Oh, yes, the dancing lesson. Is the lovely Elena ready to get educated?" He deliberately injected the last word with sinful intent, knowing that would irk Stefan no end.

Stefan narrowed his eyes, "Watch it, Damon! I like your insinuations about as much as I like you dancing with her."

"Then you should have offered to dance with her yourself, shouldn't you?" Damon stated sardonically, since he knew very well that Stefan had done that already.

"Do you think I haven't? I've asked her twice now to change her mind about dancing with you, but she's just stubborn that way." Stefan retorted heatedly.

"Twice, huh?" Damon remembered just the once, right before the first dancing lesson in town. Apparently that hadn't been the last time. Stefan's admission in combination with what he'd just found out from Alaric was doing wonders for his mood. He cocked one eyebrow and drawled, "It would seem she prefers my company."

"So I've noticed. But at the risk of sounding like a jealous boyfriend…"

"Oh, there's no risk. You do!" Damon interjected.

Stefan gave him a warning look and continued as if he'd not been interrupted, "History will not be repeating itself, Damon. I won't tolerate any inappropriate behavior from you where Elena is concerned!"

"Inappropriate behavior?" Damon pretended to mull that over, "Now what would constitute inappropriate behavior in your book?"

Stefan growled, "No sexual insinuations, no inappropriate touching!"

"No kissing in the woods?" Damon asked innocently, wondering if Elena had let anything slip about that to cause this sudden possessive streak in his brother to resurface.

Obviously she hadn't, because Stefan's eyes narrowed and he hissed, "I wish you would stop joking about it, Damon!" He stepped into the Grill and slammed the door behind him.

Damon whistled off-key all the way home.

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><p>Stefan halted inside the door for a second, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dim interior of the Grill. He spotted Alaric leaning his elbows on the bar, and headed purposefully in that direction to sink down on Damon's abandoned stool.<p>

Alaric looked up, thinking at first that Damon had come back, but his eyes widened in surprise when he saw who it was. "Stefan?" He said hesitantly. "This isn't one of your usual haunts, is it?"

Stefan flinched at Alaric echoing Damon's words exactly, even if his tone of voice was vastly different. Ric definitely spent too much time in his brother's company. He eyed Alaric's full glass of brownish liquid enviously, and without further ado, leaned over and snatched it away. He downed half of it in one gulp.

Alaric lifted his eyebrows at this atypical behavior from the normally well-behaved Stefan. He complained, "What is it with you Salvatores today? Swiping my liquor, black moods, …"

Stefan looked at him with a frown, "What are you talking about? Damon's mood was just fine when I ran in to him just now."

"Well, he was certainly in a foul mood earlier. He…" Alaric snapped his mouth shut, realizing just in time that it was probably not a good idea to tell Stefan just why his brother had been ready to chew nails. Or maybe Stefan had found that out already, and it was the reason he was here now?

So he said carefully, "So, what brings you here? I can't imagine you only want to make me set a bad example by forcing me to buy hard liquor for one of my supposedly underage students?"

Stefan thought for the second time that Alaric was definitely spending too much time with Damon: his sarcastic manner was clearly rubbing off on the history teacher. But he said readily enough, "I just had to get out of the house. The salsa music over there is driving me up the walls! There's a whole nest of them over there now with Caroline and Matt."

Alaric turned his head to look at Stefan, and said, "Yeah, what's up with that? I was surprised when Damon told me just now that heis Elena's dance partner. When I saw the enrollment sheet, I figured she'd be dancing with you."

Stefan lifted the glass to his mouth and took another sip of bourbon. He just wished it would burn more than it did. He answered Alaric's question absently, "Why would you think that?"

Alaric blinked. Something strange was going on here for sure! When he didn't answer immediately, Stefan turned to him and cast him a searching look. Alaric replied slowly, "Well… Elena's dance partner is registered as Mr. Salvatore. You are Mr. Salvatore too, no? What was I supposed to think?"

Stefan's brows drew together, forming one dark line over his eyes. "You mean the registration sheet said _Mr_. Salvatore? You saw it?"

Alaric nodded, "Yeah. I'm the "volunteer" in charge of keeping the paperwork for the contest," He skeptically indicated the quote marks with his fingers in the air, showing clearly that Mystic Falls High had its own specific meaning for the word volunteer.

Stefan scowled and asked, "Are you sure it didn't say _Damon_ Salvatore?"

Alaric wondered how big a hole he was digging himself by telling them both… what exactly? How could he have known that it was significant how Elena's partner was registered? Still he said, "Yeah, I'm sure."

Stefan grabbed his glass and drained the contents in one gulp, slamming it back onto the bar so hard the glass cracked from bottom to top.

Then he buried his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes. To any outsider it looked as though he was just tired, when in fact he was trying very hard to suppress the Change. Anger always brought it on. His fangs were pushing against his gums, aching to come down. He sucked in a deep, unneeded breath in an effort to calm himself, but it was hard with the mantra playing in his head: _she lied to me, she lied to me, …_

Like Damon, Stefan had also understood the implications of Elena telling him she couldn't change partners anymore. She had told him _twice_, very categorically, that Damon was registered as her dancing partner. He pushed the thought around in his mind, looking at it from every angle. Unless she didn't realize it? He'd better make sure before jumping to conclusions...

Alaric had been observing Stefan with a worried frown. When Stefan finally raised his head to stare blankly at the bar, Alaric said quietly, "Stefan? Are you okay, man?"

When Stefan didn't reply, Alaric called over the bartender and ordered two more drinks. The bartender looked at Stefan suspiciously, clearly wondering if he wasn't underage, but Alaric shook his head warningly and put a finger to his lips. The bartender shot Stefan another glance and finally shrugged, as if to say it was Alaric's responsibility. He filled two glasses and ostentatiously set both glasses down in front of Alaric.

Alaric pushed one over to Stefan wordlessly. Stefan picked it up gratefully and tossed the contents down. Then he turned back to Alaric and asked, "Did you tell Damon about this?" He was afraid he already knew what the answer was going to be. And when Alaric nodded, confirming his suspicions, Stefan sighed. He knew he had just discovered the reason for his brother's miraculously improved frame of mind…

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><p><strong>AN: So, I hope this was still good. I know Alaric and Stefan are not best drinking buddies, but this was too good to let it lie. I would be happy if you let me know whether you liked it? Just a little maybe? <strong>

**You can find me on Twitter val_victrix**


	15. All about Caroline

**AN: Well, I'm very glad that so many people let me know they liked the last chapter. Thank you so very much! I totally adore my reviewers ;) A special word of thanks to Shadowfaxangel, my faithful beta, and also to kjewls for her absolutely fang-tastic reviews!**

**So, Damon left the Mystic Grill in a somewhat better mood, but when he gets home, he gets an unexpected surprise... Enjoy!**

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><p>The clock had just struck 8 when Damon entered the house. He frowned when he heard voices coming from the parlor, until he suddenly remembered Stefan's words about a party. That should have warned him that Elena wouldn't be alone; only it hadn't registered before.<p>

He strolled into the parlor and halted abruptly when his gaze fell on Elena. And Caroline. And Matt. Quite the party indeed! Not to mention that it put a kink in his plans for Elena. Although… maybe he could work with this somehow?

He still growled at Caroline, "Barbie. What are you and Ken doing here?"

Caroline signaled Matt to let it be, sensing Damon's somewhat volatile mood, and Damon went on sarcastically, "This is supposed to be a private dancing lesson, not the public playground! Didn't anybody ever tell you that two is company, but three, let alone four, is a crowd?" He paused and added meaningfully, "I don't like crowds!"

Elena answered in Caroline's stead, sounding a little too chipper, "Hello, Damon! I hope you don't mind that I invited Caroline and Matt. They were having trouble with some of the steps, and I told them you'd be happy to explain."

Elena silently congratulated herself on her splendid idea to circumvent the awkwardness that would certainly exist between them after the _incident_ in the woods by having Caroline and Matt present. And it all sounded so plausible too!

Damon turned to her and raised an eyebrow, "What makes you think I would be of a mind to instruct the competition, Elena?"

Elena nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and didn't say anything. She looked as if she hadn't expected him to object to her scheme. Because it was very clear to him that this was indeed a scheme, something Elena and Caroline had devised together so Elena wouldn't have to be alone with him.

Now why would she be afraid to be alone with him? Did she feel uncomfortable? Or could it be that she wanted to avoid temptation? He smirked: whatever her reasons, it seemed she wasn't as indifferent to him as she'd pretended to be the last time they spoke…

Caroline decided on the wisest course of action when she told him pragmatically, "I saw you dance the other night, Damon. It's absolutely no use pretending that we would constitute any sort of competition for you!"

Damon had to admire the way Caroline succeeded in paying him a compliment while disguising it as typical Barbie-bluntness. He decided to play along for the moment. "Don't think I can't see what you're doing here, Blondie, but let's just pretend that it worked and I'll allow you to stay. If you're good and speak only when spoken to, I might even give you some pointers."

Caroline frowned.

Damon considered the three of them for a moment and felt considerably overdressed by comparison. After Wednesdays' thunderstorm, Thursday had been cooler, but today the temperature had been steadily rising again, although it wasn't yet up to Wednesdays' sultry heat. As a concession to the weather, Matt was wearing cargo pants and a loosely fitting sleeveless pale blue top, Caroline wore a thin summer dress and Elena was in navy capris and a white camisole.

Damon was dressed in his usual black, in a long-sleeved black shirt and jeans. Of course, since he was a vampire, it wasn't as if the warmth bothered him, but considering the lesson he was planning on teaching Elena, he was most assuredly at a disadvantage dressed like this…

So he turned around and sauntered out of the room, saying over his shoulder, "If you'll excuse me for a few seconds? If we're going to dance, I need to slip into something more comfortable." If that last part came out in a slightly lascivious tone, well, that was because he meant it to.

Elena and Caroline looked at each other, but he wasn't going to give them time to do much more than that. He was upstairs and back down in a few seconds just as he'd said; having exchanged the black shirt for a white tank top, exactly like the one he'd been wearing Wednesday.

By having Caroline and Matt present, Elena had made sure he couldn't very well talk to her about what had happened Wednesday. Well, if he couldn't talk to her, he was going to remind her some other way! By the way her eyes widened and a blush stole across her cheeks when he leisurely strolled back into the room, he could tell she did indeed remember it all too well. So much for her claim that she would forget everything that had happened!

Coolly, he toed off his shoes, noticing that Elena had already taken off hers. He then took inordinate pleasure in telling Caroline and Matt to take off theirs as well, because "otherwise my floor will most assuredly not survive your attempts to dance salsa unscathed!"

While Damon put on the music, Elena looked at Caroline apologetically as if telling her that she knew what Damon was like. Caroline couldn't help but feel that she got to suffer some of the animosity Damon felt for Elena at the moment. If she was honest, she couldn't blame him either. She should have left Elena to manage her own affairs_._ Still, Elena was her friend and she'd promised to help her out…

After the warm up (at which Elena was getting quite proficient by now), Damon set Elena practicing a new combination of steps, and then told Caroline and Matt to start dancing so he could observe them.

After about two minutes he stopped them again, saying, "Your biggest problem isn't with the steps, Barbie. It's just that you look like you've got a broomstick up your … Well, I'll not mention that, seeing as there is a lady present." For some reason, he was looking at Matt when he said that.

Matt growled but Caroline put a restraining hand on his arm and looked at Damon reproachfully.

Damon didn't pay it any mind; he went on, "You shouldn't just move your _feet_ when dancing salsa. Like most Latin dances, it's a dance of seduction. You use your eyes and your body to entice your partner. Let me show you."

He plucked Caroline's hand from Matt's and spun her to him. They started dancing, doing the basic salsa steps and turns for a while.

"Don't look at your feet, Barbie! Look into my eyes… If memory serves, there was a time when you had no problem with that!" Damon said drily and Caroline blushed.

Elena stopped practicing to watch them, seeing that a frowning Matt was doing the same.

Damon then told Caroline to keep doing the basic step. He released her but kept dancing while he skimmed his hands down her arms, lifting them at that odd angle, and indicated she should keep them that way. Then he slid his own hands further down, putting them onto the swell of her hips and guiding her into moving them more sensuously.

Elena watched Damon's hands holding Caroline's hips and wondered if he really _had_ to do that? He hadn't done it when teaching _her_…

It actually looked very sexy, Elena thought: Caroline, wearing a slinky red number that swayed with the movement of her hips, was doing the basic step, not touching him but gazing into his eyes, and Damon was doing the reverse step, with his hands firmly on her tiny waist, guiding her hips in sensual swivels. They made a striking couple.

Elena suddenly felt slightly envious of Caroline's graceful little dress (only of the dress, mind!): she herself hadn't wanted a reminder of her soaked see-through dress from last time, so she had wisely put on capris and a camisole instead, but now she felt a bit of a grey mouse, invisible and thus easily overlooked, and she found it didn't sit well with her. At all. A tiny frown appeared on her forehead.

Damon had been covertly observing Elena's reaction. Now his mouth turned up in a slow smile and he said appreciatively, "That's more like it, Caroline."

Elena noticed he was suddenly using her name instead of calling her Barbie or Blondie or some kind of nickname like he usually did, and for some reason that irked her. And she didn't think it was very polite of him to flirt with Caroline under Matt's nose!

Damon continued dancing with Caroline but after a while he let go of her hips and assumed the normal dancing position again, one hand holding hers, the other on Caroline's back. When the song ended, he twirled her around, and she looked up at him, eyes shining with laughter.

Then he gave her a teasing little slap on the backside and told her, "I think you've got it nailed. Now try it with Ken over there. You'll need to teach him, because there's no way I'm putting my hands on _his_ butt!" They both laughed as though that was quite funny.

Elena was silently simmering, already regretting her decision to drag Caroline into this.

Damon beckoned Matt to come closer, and handed Caroline's hand over to him with a flourish, "Well, _lover boy_, she's all yours. And she's got the moves down. Now it's your turn. Remember to leave all the broomsticks and other cleaning trappings in the broom closet where they belong and shake it with everything you've got!"

Then he turned to Elena. She watched him stalking towards her like a big feline, bare feet soundlessly moving on the wooden floor like a predator stalking its prey. And that was exactly what she felt like: prey waiting to be devoured.

Without a word he slipped his arms around her and they started dancing as if they'd never done anything else, instantly finding the right rhythm. This surprised Elena somewhat, since she'd imagined she'd be feeling somewhat awkward about dancing with him again.

Elena couldn't help but remark, "You didn't teach it to _me_ that way."

Damon quirked an eyebrow, "Aha! Do I detect a sliver of jealousy?" He spoke very quietly, undoubtedly so Caroline wouldn't overhear, but it meant that Elena had to bend closer to him to understand what he was saying.

When she did, she thought she noticed a faint whiff of alcohol and breathed, "Damon, are you drunk?"

Damon shrugged his shoulders and said dismissively, "Only a very little." He held his fingers apart a millimeter, and then focused on Elena again, his blue eyes intent, "But I'm not so out of it that I don't recognize the green-eyed monster when I see it… and I certainly don't mean my brother by that!"

He regretted the words as soon as he said them; he could _kick_ himself for bringing Stefan up. Fortunately for him, it looked like Elena hadn't been paying attention, because she just scowled at him and hissed, "I'm _not_ jealous. I just noticed, is all."

Damon smirked to cover his relief. This was going extremely well, he thought. She was definitely jealous! Time for the next part of the plan…

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><p><strong>AN: To be continued, of course! So, let me know if you liked the first part of Damon's little plan? Review or follow me on Twitter (val_victrix) :)<strong>


	16. Hips don't lie

**AN: Thank you, Shakira, for providing the title of this chapter, and to Shadowfaxangel for your**** wonderful comments, and to all my reviewers for making my day ;)**

**And onwards to the second part of Damon's plan… Enjoy!**

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><p>"So you're not jealous?" Damon cocked one eyebrow in disbelief, "And you're totally indifferent to me?"<p>

He smirked as he saw a rosy blush spreading across her cheeks, "You certainly are a pretty little liar, Elena."

Elena's eyes grew bigger. She'd expected Damon to be angry with her for telling him their kiss had been a mistake; she hadn't thought he wouldn't believe her. He always had before...

Damon looked over at Caroline and Matt, and raised his voice over the music, "Remember, Caroline, use your body and your eyes to seduce your partner. Just think of all the wicked things you want to do with him, and your eyes will speak for themselves!"

Caroline nodded eagerly without breaking eye contact with Matt.

Damon turned back to Elena. He leaned in closer and whispered deviously, "There was no need to tell _you_ that, right, Elena? You succeeded very well in seducing your dance partner without even trying…" Elena looked up at him, startled.

Damon deliberately slid his left hand down her back, very slowly. When his hand reached her bottom, he took a few seconds to appreciate the tight pants she was wearing. Then he dragged his fingertips back up to her shoulder blade just as languidly.

Elena felt his caress down her back as if there were no clothes in between her skin and his, and her heart skipped a beat. When Damon smiled like a cat that had spotted a mouse within easy reach, her heart started racing. Elena knew exactly how the mouse felt.

"Remember me telling Caroline to use her eyes to seduce her dance partner?" Damon whispered, just barely audible above the music. Without waiting for an answer he started to twirl her, but instead of letting her complete the turn, he brought his arms down abruptly, effectively immobilizing her with her back pressed to his chest and his arms wrapped around her body.

For a second Elena felt completely surrounded by him, as if she were wrapped in a safe, Damon-shaped cocoon… until his mouth touched her ear and he breathed, "Do you know that your eyes can be very talkative, Elena? Out-and-out chatterboxes they are, talking to me allthe time..."

Elena shivered when Damon's lips brushed the tip of her ear. His hand was sliding down to her waist again very slowly, and she closed her eyes briefly, struggling not to melt into his touch. Then he suddenly spun her out, so unexpectedly she almost lost her footing.

When she came face to face with him again, he sent her a smoldering look and whispered, "And I like what they tell me. I like it very much! They give the lie to your words, Elena."

Elena missed a step and deliberately avoided looking into his eyes after that. God, he was shameless, she thought, talking and flirting with her like that with Caroline and Matt in the same room. He was just so outrageously Damon! She hissed, "Could you please stop that?"

"Stop what, Elena? Dancing?" Damon asked innocently and stopped dancing. He could tell Elena was getting agitated; he knew he was getting to her, and he almost relented. But then he remembered how she'd had the nerve to tell him to forget about their kiss because it had just been a spur-of-the-moment-thing! She deserved to be taught a lesson, and in the presence of an audience he had to be more subtle about it than he'd anticipated…

Elena stopped dancing as well and said under her breath, knowing he'd hear her anyway, "Just stop with the flirty little comments, the insinuations, the sexual references, the double meanings... You know exactly what I mean!"

Damon pouted like a little boy, "But I like it!"

Elena replied instantly, "Well, I don't! I'm here to dance! Not to listen to your… your… to you!"

"Elena! I had no idea you were so shallow!" Damon said, making wide eyes as if he could hardly believe it. Elena had an uncomfortable flashback to her conversation with Caroline the other day.

"What? I'm _not_ shallow!" She retorted, gnashing her teeth.

Damon laughed. She was so wonderfully predictable sometimes. He teased, "Oh, yes, you are! You do want to dance with me, but you don't want to talk to me…" He pretended to mull that over for a moment, "Sounds as if you only want me for my amazing body but not for my sparkling personality! Wouldn't you call that shallow?"

"Yes… I mean _No_! Dammit, Damon!" Elena was getting really irritated now. And her hair was sticking to her neck too! She lifted the heavy mass away from her sweaty neck and fumbled in her pocket for a rubber band to pull her hair into a ponytail. "Can't we just dance without talking all the time? You're distracting me!"

Damon cocked an eyebrow and purred, "Mmm, but I so love to be your distraction…"

Elena didn't respond. She had finally located the rubber band and pulled her hair into a ponytail with short jerky movements, a frown creasing her forehead.

Damon observed her, and he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for needling her like that. Besides, it wasn't as if he could only use words to unbalance her, which was why he said, "So it would make you feel better if I didn't talk?"

Elena looked at him suspiciously. She was convinced she wouldn't get so disconcerted if she could just concentrate on dancing, without Damon talking her into thinking things she shouldn't.

At Elena's nod, Damon's lips twitched and he whispered lasciviously, "Ooh, kinky Elena! So, no talking; just hot, passionate… s… _salsa_!"

Her eyes shot daggers at him, and she hissed, "Damon!"

He held up his hands in surrender and said, suddenly serious, "Okay! I will not say another word as long as we're dancing." Then he warned, "But you can't talk either. And you have to follow my lead! Are we agreed?"

Elena nodded. But when Damon flashed her a brilliant smile, she panicked for an instant, wondering if there had been more to his words than she'd realized. Then she saw Caroline and Matt across the room and was reassured by their presence. Damon couldn't really get up to anything as long as they were here, could he?

True to his word, Damon didn't say another word and they resumed dancing, keeping to the basic step. As they slipped back into the rhythm, he released her and took her hands in his, and for a moment Elena thought he was going to put his hands on her waist as he'd done with Caroline. But he didn't. He looked at her mischievously as he put _her_ hands on his own hips!

Elena stopped dancing abruptly and pulled her hands back with a warning look. Damon stood still too. He just looked at her and lifted one eyebrow as if to remind her that she had agreed to follow his lead.

She pressed her lips together but acquiesced, placing her hands gingerly back on his hips.

His eyes were laughing at her, but he still didn't speak; he resumed dancing and put his own hands on top of hers, pressing them resolutely onto his moving hips and keeping them there.

Elena started dancing too, cautious at first. But just like last time, her anger swiftly disappeared when she got sucked into the rhythm of the dance. As one song merged into the next, she gradually lost some of her reserve. Instead of just statically holding his hips, she started to really _feel_ his movements, and she tried to emulate them as best she could. She wasn't even aware of him releasing her hands from their prison beneath his own; her hands were now firmly on his hips, not exactly guiding but not merely resting there either.

Damon bit back a smile: Elena's innate sensuality simply couldn't be denied, and he meant to take advantage of that as much as he could.

Elena was starting to enjoy the sensuous movement of Damon's hips beneath her hands and she gripped him a little more firmly. His tank top had ridden up a little and her hands were suddenly touching his cool skin just above the waist of his jeans. It sent a shiver down her spine, but she kept her hands exactly where they were.

Damon's hands slowly skimmed up and down her arms, causing the tiny hairs on Elena's arms to stand on end. She looked at him then, her eyes half closed, and he noted with satisfaction that there was heat in her eyes but it was no longer the heat of anger.

He brought his body infinitesimally closer to hers and inhaled deeply, letting the sweet scent of Elena invade his senses. He desperately wanted to pull her to him and crush his lips to hers, but he knew he couldn't: he was all too conscious of Caroline and Matt's presence in the room.

He reflected ruefully that there was a definite downside to trying to get back at her by getting her all worked up; he was getting himself quite hot and bothered as well! So he did the next best thing: he touched her. He rested one hand on the curve of her bottom, and his other hand traced the seam of her camisole upwards, agonizingly slowly.

Elena had been registering his adjustments in a sensual haze, a warm glow igniting in her stomach. When his hand brushed the outer curve of her breast, she whimpered…

… and Caroline's chirpy voice interrupted her warm fuzzy feelings like a cold shower on heated senses, "Hey, Elena, could you show me how to make this turn? I keep getting the timing wrong!"

"That's not the only timing she's got wrong," Damon muttered under his breath when Elena broke away from him, an utterly charming look of confusion on her face.

Elena was puzzled. She couldn't understand how it had almost happened again: why did she have so little self-control around Damon? She should be grateful to Caroline for her intervention, but strangely enough she felt an unreasonable irritation with her for interrupting a very useful dancing exercise. Talk about mixed feelings!

Elena walked over to Caroline and started explaining about the turn, but she could see that Caroline wasn't really paying attention. Everybody had clearly had enough, so they soon called it a night.

When Caroline and Matt left, Elena went with them. As soon as she was sure they were out of Damon's earshot, Elena intercepted Caroline, "Why did you do that? You didn't really have a problem with that turn, did you?"

Caroline looked at Matt walking in front of them, but he didn't appear to be listening, so she whispered back, "No. I was just doing what I thought you wanted me to. Things seemed to be getting a little out of hand in there…"

Elena shook her head and huffed, "I had everything perfectly under control, Care." She was already regretting having brought Caroline into this for more reasons than one.

Caroline looked doubtful, "It didn't look like that to me."

"I think I can handle myself, Caroline," Elena was adamant.

"But are you sure you can handle Damon?" Caroline thought, but she didn't say anything.

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><p><strong>AN: I know, I know. Caroline and her untimely interruptions! Granted, it was Elena's own fault for inviting her, but she did foil Damon's plans somewhat…<strong>

**Well, I wasn't too happy with this chapter myself. Only, it resisted all my efforts at rewriting, so I decided to leave it like this :( I promise the next one will be better though ;) **

**Find me on Twitter if you want: val_victrix**


	17. Dreams and hallucinations

**AN: Thank you for the wonderful reviews**** (I can't say that enough LOL)! And as of this week, I'm over 200! So great! Thank you so much!**

**The list goes on: virtual hugs to the best beta ever, going by the name of Shadowfaxangel! ****And a special thank you to Asu****91 for nominating Shadowdancing for the Awards 2011! I am truly honored to be included on the list of all those amazing authors! It really made my day and I had to thank you personally!**

**I hope y'all enjoy the next chapter of Shadowdancing ;-)**

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><p>On Saturday morning Elena woke up, gasping for breath, her heart pounding and her body throbbing in the aftermath of a vivid dream. The sheets were tangled about her legs as if she'd been tossing and turning and her skin was damp. She had the fuzzy feeling that she'd just had a wonderful dream that she should remember, but like a wisp of smoke, it eluded her grasp as soon as she opened her eyes and tried to recall it. She squinted at her alarm clock: its blinking red lights showed her that it was only 6:30 am.<p>

When she turned to her other side and tried to go back to sleep, she was plagued by images of Damon, patiently explaining a new salsa move for her to try, Damon with his trademark smirk on his face, Damon arrogantly lifting one eyebrow, Damon wiggling his hips, … until finally she gave up trying to go back to sleep. If she was going to be harassed by him anyway, it might as well be by the real thing!

So she sleepily maneuvered herself from her bed into the shower and back into her navy capris: they were very comfortable for dancing, and Damon had seemed to appreciate them as well (not that that was her reason for wearing them again of course). She didn't stop to think about why she chose a ridiculously soft, frilly, off-white little top with a swooping neckline that hugged her figure in a most flattering way. She chose to wear the top because it made her feel good and she needed all the self-confidence she could muster today because she was going to brave the lion in his den without backup.

Some little time later, Elena entered the boarding house and went straight to the parlor. It was empty and dark, the curtains drawn and shadows still lingering in the corners. She turned on her heel and marched into the kitchen, where she found Damon nonchalantly leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping a glass of dark red liquid.

When she came in, he looked up and said, "Good morning, sunshine! You're bright and early today!"

Elena yawned a greeting back, but didn't spare him more than a look. She didn't need more than that to notice he was wearing only tight black jeans that were, as usual, in imminent danger of falling off. What was it with that man and his pants?

Early morning sunlight slanted through the kitchen windows, glinting off his still wet hair, its dark, silky locks falling haphazardly over his forehead. Her hands itched to smooth those wayward locks so he wouldn't look so much like an unkempt but cute little boy.

Meanwhile Damon's eyes appreciatively perused Elena's choice of dress, and his eyebrows rose: she looked kind of provocative today, all tempting curves and hollows. A slow smile playing round his mouth, he purred, "Mmm, Elena. Can I just say that you look good enough to eat this morning?"

Elena had a strange sense of déja-vu when he said those words, as if she'd heard them before. She shook her head, chasing the thought away, and headed to the fridge without a word. She'd skipped breakfast at home and suddenly she felt lightheaded with hunger and lack of sleep.

Opening the door of the fridge, she checked if there was any orange juice left, and spied a fresh bottle next to a few blood bags. No way was she going to make another comment concerning blood bags… Besides, considering his earlier remark, Damon might just think she wanted him to bite her!

She shut the fridge door and felt Damon come up behind her stealthily. She turned around quickly, but before she could strategically retreat, he blocked her exit by putting his hands against the fridge on either side of her head. She recoiled as far as she could go, but her back bumped into the fridge door almost instantly.

He crowded closer to her, his skin blessedly cool against hers in the morning's heat. He was so close that she couldn't see anything beyond his smooth, sculpted chest. She squeezed her eyes shut, trembling slightly, but she didn't say anything.

Wordlessly his head dipped down and he nuzzled her neck, breathing softly and deliberately into her ear. Chills ran down her spine in quick succession. Suddenly she felt the rough tip of his tongue tracing a vein in her neck, and she knew her heartbeat was racing. Was he going to bite her? She was amazed to feel herself tilt her head slightly to one side, allowing him better access…

"Do you have a cramp in your neck?" A dry voice suddenly inquired from across the room.

Elena's eyes flew open and she saw …

… Damon leisurely sipping a glass of blood on the other side of the room. He was leaning against the counter in the exact same spot he had been when she came in.

She, on the other hand, was pressed with her back against the fridge, her neck tilted at an odd angle and her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut again, but a second later they flew open again and, panicking, she grabbed for her neck.

No locket! Had she lost it? She _never_ took that thing off! So had this been compulsion then?

Only, the strange sense of déja-vu was stronger now, as if she'd recently done the exact same things. Did this have anything to do with the dream she couldn't remember? Her jumbled thoughts were interrupted by Damon's voice.

"While I certainly don't mind the pretty picture you made there, plastering yourself all over my fridge in a very sensual manner, I do object to you spilling the orange juice," Damon had been observing her antics with a puzzled expression from across the kitchen, but now he sauntered over to where she was standing.

Elena looked down and noticed the spreading puddle of sticky orange liquid by her feet. She must have dropped it when…

"Not that it's my drink of choice, but you see, we often have a very peculiar houseguest and she insists on having fresh juice whenever she's here," He smirked. "Her name is Elena. Maybe you know her?" He was now standing right next to her, looking her over lazily, and in an eerie imitation of her - what had it been? Hallucination? Dream? - he traced his finger down her throat.

She quivered but slapped his hand away.

"You look as though you've seen a ghost, Elena." Tilting his head slightly as though listening, he remarked, "And your heart is beating a mile a minute."

"I… I… didn't sleep well," she admitted, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked at him furtively from beneath her lashes.

"You didn't sleep well? Hmm. At least you can't blame me for that, 'cause it sure wasn't me keeping you up last night," He winked.

Her eyes widened involuntarily. He couldn't know that it had been him she'd been having those wicked thoughts about earlier, could he?

Her reaction must have been telling, because he tilted his head again and said slowly, "Or was it? You mean you couldn't sleep because of _me_?" He waggled a finger in her face, "Ooh, naughty Elena. Now you have me all curious! What _was_ I doing?"

Elena shook her head, but couldn't keep a telltale blush from colouring her cheeks.

Damon's mouth twitched and he whispered closer to her ear, "That bad, is it? Just so you know, if you want to live out your fantasies, I would be more than happy to oblige!"

Elena wisely didn't reply to that. She just grabbed a cloth to mop up the spilled juice and crouched down, mumbling to herself, "I think I'm going crazy. First the dreams, and now I'm hallucinating…"

Damon's sensitive ears had no problem picking up those words though, and he said, "Hallucinating, are you? Don't worry, I have that effect on women sometimes."

When she straightened and rinsed the cloth in the sink, he added with laughter sounding clear in his voice, "In fact, it happens all thetime when I'm around females! There's just no escaping it! I blame it on the pheromones."

Elena turned from the sink, the dripping wet rag still in her hand. She took one step towards him and with a dangerous gleam in her eye, slapped it against his bare chest. It hit with a wet splash and stayed put for a few seconds before slowly sliding down his chest and abs to land on the floor with a plopping sound. Elena wet her lips as her eyes automatically followed the path of the cloth, but when she looked up again and saw a look of indignation and complete astonishment at her audacity on Damon's face, she burst out laughing.

Damon frowned at her for a moment before looking down at the wet trail across his chest and stomach. Then he chuckled and finally joined in the laughter wholeheartedly.

Elena laughed until her sides ached, and then she laughed some more. Damon finally sobered. He retrieved the wet cloth from the floor, and threateningly held it over her head. One fat, cold drop of water splashed on her hair and she squealed, jumping backwards to avoid more wetness. He took a step forward and held out the cloth again.

Elena cautiously stepped backwards, raising her hands to ward him off, and panted, still breathless with laughing so hard, "Stop, Damon! I promise I won't do it again, but I just couldn't resist!"

Damon narrowed his eyes, but a smile was tugging at the corner of his mouth when he drawled, "Oh, you couldn't _resist_, could you? You can hope I'm better at resisting my urges then!"

He mirrored her backwards motion by moving forward, until finally her back hit the wall and she couldn't retreat any further. She stretched out her hands before her, giggling when he kept moving relentlessly closer, trapping her hands in between their bodies, the palms of her hands flat against the dampness on his chest.

She exclaimed without thinking, "Watch out, Damon! You're getting me all wet!"

He shook his head admonishingly and raised an eyebrow, repeating in an incredulous voice, "I'm getting you all _wet_? Now, Elena, you can't just go around telling a man things like that! We're simple creatures; we might view it as an invitation to make you even more…" Elena blushed furiously when she realised the double meaning of what she'd said, but Damon went on with a smirk, "…_wet, _especially when you look as tempting as you do today."

Elena looked up at him; he was so close. She became aware of her hands pressed up against his rock-hard chest and started pushing. She wasn't going to succumb to him today! She wasn't! She pushed harder and gave him a warning look. Damon didn't resist and let her push him away, a knowing smile on his face…

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><p><strong>AN: Hope you liked it? I really appreciate you guys taking the time to review ;-) <strong>

**Find me on Twitter for all things TVD and other randomness val_victrix! **


	18. Dancing shoes

**AN: I was so incredibly MAD at my computer today! I had written a nice little chapter 23 for you guys this weekend (and it was a key chapter too if you get my meaning), only to find that over half of the document was gone when I opened it again today. So I tried to rewrite it, but of course it was so much BETTER the first time… Argh, sorry for the whine; I just had to vent a little :(**

**Anyways, a great big thank you to all of you who've been reading and reviewing the last chapter! I guess you guys haven't tired of dancing yet ;)**

**So, here's the sequel to dreams and hallucinations. It picks up right where last chapter ended. Enjoy!**

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><p>Elena blurted out, "Shall we get on with it, then?"<p>

"We can get _on_ with it, or…" Damon smiled wickedly, "We can get _it_ on? Your choice, though I can guess which one it's going to be."

Elena's cheeks burned. She gave him a good push backwards and exclaimed, "Damon! You know very well that I meant to say, shall we get on with _dancing_!"

Damon shrugged as if saying that nobody could blame him for trying. Well, it wasn't as if he had really expected her to go for the second choice after all... Then he perked up and looked at her intently, feigning surprise, "Do you mean it's just you and me today? No chaperones? Mmm, this could still get interesting!"

"Damon! If you're going to be like that, I'm out of here!" Elena said sounding slightly annoyed. "You know I'm here to dance! So you can just quit with the flirting and that eye-thing you do."

"As milady wishes," Damon said with a slight bow, and made to follow her into the parlor.

"Erm… aren't you going to put something on?" Elena inquired hesitantly.

"Too much for you to handle?" He grinned and then pretended to be apologetic, "Oops, sorry. Just a slip of the tongue!" He stuck out his tongue before flashing up the stairs, and Elena shook her head, suppressing a smile. It was hard to believe he had so many years on her; he could behave like such a naughty little boy sometimes! But it was certainly no little boy that strolled back into the parlour… Elena swallowed.

She should have known he would find a way around doing as she'd asked. He had obliged her by putting on a dark grey shirt, only he'd left the shirt hanging open, revealing a swath of bare toned skin. The fact that she could only glimpse tantalizing flashes of him through the open shirt, was somehow more tempting than the completely bare-chested Damon from before.

He didn't make any effort to button the shirt, but she didn't dare make another remark. She was so distracted with the mouth-watering view he presented that she completely missed that he was also carrying a shoebox in one hand.

Damon had been avidly watching Elena as he walked in: he felt quite gratified when he saw her gaze drop and the slight tinge of red that consequently coloured her cheeks. He wasn't above using his body to get what he wanted, and he had noticed that Elena seemed especially receptive to a little exposure of skin on his part lately, which meant that shirt wasn't going to get buttoned any time soon…

"Elena, why don't you sit down?" Damon motioned for her to take a seat.

She tore her eyes away from his well-formed abs and sank down onto the couch with a quizzical expression. When she noticed the box, her brow cleared and she said, "Ooh, finally I get to wear shoes!"

Damon didn't reply, but smoothly sank down on one knee before her.

She giggled at the incongruous sight and said, "Wow, Damon! You look like you're about to propose… only you look slightly too dishevelled to pull it off!"

He smiled at her roguishly and murmured, "Now, now, Elena. You know that I'm far more likely to _proposition_ a girl than _propose_ to her…" Elena blushed, but Damon wasn't done yet, "Although I might make an exception for you if you want?"

She shifted uneasily and looked down to hide her discomfort, and he opened the box. Elena took one look at the shoes it contained and breathed, "Oh, Damon! They're beautiful!"

The shoes looked as if they were made of very thin, intricately interlaced silver straps set with tiny glittering stones, and they sported inches-high heels like stilettos. They were indeed beautiful, but she was never going to be able to stand on the things, let alone dance in them!

He picked one of them up out of the box, and asked with a twinkle in his eyes, "Well, Cinderella, if you would be so kind as to give me your foot? You know you only get to attend the ball as my dark princess if the shoe fits…"

Elena wordlessly lifted one sandaled foot. He took it in his hand and placed it on his upper leg, undoing the straps dexterously. He switched the sandal for the silvery dancing shoe and carefully inserted her foot in it, deftly arranging the delicate straps as they should go and finally closing the little clasp like a very proficient ladies' maid (making Elena wonder for a moment how many times he had removed female footwear in his long life, well, existence).

All the while she was very conscious of his fingers grazing her foot and her leg with feather light touches. The shoe fit perfectly and he looked up at her, boyishly happy for a job well done. She couldn't help but smile back in response.

Then he performed the same ritual with her other foot. She was certain he was taking his sweet time about it, but finally both shoes were firmly on her feet. Now for the hard part, Elena thought. She stood, or at least, she tried to stand, but she was wobbling so much that she lost her balance and stumbled into Damon. Who'd obviously been expecting this to happen, because the corners of his mouth turned up slightly and he supported her with one arm around her waist before he set her back on her feet.

"Damon, these shoes almost give me vertigo! I thought you said my shoes weren't gonna be too high?" Elena asked. "These are definitely going to make me fall!"

Damon waggled his eyebrows and replied, "Maybe I changed my mind? Maybe I'm hoping these shoes will make you fall? For me? At my feet? In my arms? Take your pick!"

Elena gave him a chiding look and said, "But how am I going to dance in these shoes? I can't even stay upright!"

As if to prove her point, she lost her footing again and grabbed hold of the closest firm object likely to keep her on two legs, which happened to be Damon. It was the merest coincidence that her hand sought purchase smack in the middle of his chest where there was no shirt covering his smooth skin.

"If I'd have known that those shoes would make you cling to me like this, I'd have given them to you a lot sooner," Damon laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of Elena's warm body pressed flush against him.

"But Damon, I can barely walk on them!" Elena said desperately, looking up at him from close range, her hand still on his chest.

Damon looked down at her upturned face and gently took her chin in his hand, "Elena, calm down. You just need to get the hang of it. You'll find it's much easier if you walk on your toes, the way you do when you're dancing."

"Well, you sure know how to keep me on my toes!" Elena mumbled under her breath, and Damon smiled at the double meaning.

When she tried to shift her weight, keeping it off her heels, she stumbled again and huffed, "This is clearly a typical male invention to give a woman a hard time! I'm sure it's only meant to keep us from running away from you!"

Damon bit back a smile and continued to support her. "Not really, you know. If we'd have been living in 18th century France, I would probably have been wearing higher heels than you…" Elena tried to imagine Damon daintily walking on four-inch heels and they both laughed.

Damon let go of her and she finally succeeded in keeping her balance. He turned to the stereo, put on the music and returned to her, giving her an exaggerated bow and saying, "Would you give me the honour of this dance, milady?" Elena giggled and nodded.

At first she was a bit insecure, forgetting about not putting too much weight on the heels and wobbling, needing Damon's help more than once to keep her from sprawling inelegantly on the floor. If Damon's hand lingered a bit too long when righting her, she couldn't be bothered. In fact, she kind of liked it.

Damon knew very well that Elena was aware of what he was doing: that was clear from the looks she kept darting at him from under her lashes whenever he touched her. He was enjoying himself immensely. She was adorable, like a new-born colt trying to get its awkward legs to cooperate. If he hadn't been conscious of his feelings before, he would have known he loved her in that moment…

His eyes must have conveyed something to her, because she stilled and looked up at him wonderingly. Her laughing eyes became serious, but she didn't pull away. She did forget about her lack of balance though; suddenly she stood straight and perfectly still, her hands on his upper arms, clenching his biceps almost painfully.

Then her eyes softened and she said questioningly, "Damon?"

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Stefan's voice suddenly sounded over the salsa music. Elena jumped away from Damon as if stung by a bee, wobbling for a moment but catching herself in time by grabbing Damon's extended arm.

Damon rolled his eyes. Trust his brother to come barging in in the middle of a _moment_!

But he turned lazily towards Stefan, pursed his lips and said, slightly annoyed, "Yes, as a matter of fact you _are_ interrupting. As you can see, the lovely Elena and I are dancing."

Stefan walked down the steps, nodding his head but turning the corners of his mouth down at the same time, as if he seriously doubted his brother's words, "Is that right? You're dancing? I wasn't aware that your hands had to be all over her to do that!"

Elena blushed a fiery red, but Damon wasn't fazed. He raised his eyebrows and said, "What can I say? I happen to believe in the hands_-_on approach."

Stefan scowled, and Elena quickly interjected, "I'm only trying on my new shoes, Stefan. You see, they're very high, so I needed Damon's help to stay upright."

Stefan's eyebrows shot up and he said again, "Is that right? I suppose the shoes were my brother's idea?" He sounded as though the idea of shoes was scandalous.

Damon rolled his eyes, "The girl needs shoes to dance, Stefan. Even suspicious minds like yours must see that."

Stefan narrowed his eyes, and Elena walked away from Damon. She remembered to keep her weight mostly on her toes and succeeded in walking towards Stefan quite dignified. When she put her hands on Stefan's upper arms, she felt the rigid tension in his biceps right through his shirt. She looked up at him entreatingly and said, "Please, Stefan. Don't be like this."

Stefan looked down at her hands on his arms, his features carefully blank, and Elena wondered if he had turned off his emotions, because she couldn't read him at all. He shot a glance over her shoulder to where Damon was standing and said quietly, "I'm going to ask you one last time, Elena. Let me take Damon's place. I might not be as good as he is, but I do know my basic salsa steps."

Only then did he look into her eyes, searching for … what exactly? Elena thought. She had felt her stomach drop at his question, and now she hesitated. Her eyes slid away from his penetrating emerald gaze when she answered, "Stefan, we've been through this before. You refused, Damon didn't. It's as simple as that. Damon is my dancing partner now."

"But you would change partners if you could?" Stefan's voice was strangely intense.

Elena answered, exasperated, "If I've told you once, I've told you a million times, Stefan. I can't change partners anymore!"

Stefan's gaze seemed to grow harder, turning his eyes into shards of green glass. He almost bit out, "Are you quite sure about that, _Miss_ Gilbert? You can't change partners? Or you won't?"

Elena frowned, wondering why he called her _Miss_ Gilbert with so much emphasis. Then her eyes widened. He couldn't know about the names on the registration sheet, could he? She frowned: that was impossible. Nobody had seen that, surely.

She regretted now that she had not written Damon's name on it from the beginning, but she had wanted to keep her options open at the time, only to find that she didn't want to miss out on the opportunity of dancing with Damon. Although it had made her feel quite bad that she'd had to lie to Stefan about not being able to switch partners.

She was torn for an instant, but then she skirted around the answer by asking, "Please, Stefan. What difference does it make at this point?"

A flash of … something… showed in Stefan's inscrutable moss green eyes. He took a step back, causing her hands to slide off his arms, and said, "It makes a hell of a difference, Elena. And you know it."

He backed out of the parlor and was gone in an instant. And that was the end of the lesson.

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><p><strong>AN: Well, Elena finally got some shoes... I hope you enjoyed it. You know I very much appreciate your feedback (=review LOL)!<strong>

**My twitter is still val_victrix!**


	19. Love bites

**AN: Well, I just found out (yes I'm way behind on that stuff) that Ian and Nina are officially an item! Can't say I'm surprised... Chemistry all around LOL! I wish them all the best ;) **

**Big hugs to all of you people who reviewed: I hope you guys don't mind my long(ish) replies. You really make my day! Also a big big hug to Shadowfaxangel: love ya ;) **

**And so, the dance goes on... Enjoy!**

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><p>It was twilight, that strange time between day and night just as the light was starting to fade, making it hard to distinguish illusion from reality, when Elena let herself into the boarding house. As she walked past the big mirror that was mounted on the wall by the door, she halted for a moment to observe herself critically.<p>

She was wearing her new silver dancing shoes, paired with a black ruffled skirt that on second glance did seem a bit short, but the shoes and the skirt made her legs seem endless, and she kind of liked that. On top she wore a close-fitting black camisole with a rather plunging heart shaped neckline. Her hair was tucked into a high ponytail, leaving her long neck tantalizingly bare.

She tossed her head back and swayed – yes, now that she had been practicing walking on the high walker-shoes, she couldn't help but sway; it was the only way to walk in them apparently – into the parlor. She looked around hopefully, but Damon wasn't there.

The falling dusk was creating lengthening shadows inside the house, yet there were no lights on anywhere. The only light in the room was the reddish glow from the fire, playing erratically over the dark furniture.

Elena was just about to turn and go look for Damon elsewhere, when two hands slipped around her waist from behind and a cool body pressed up against her back. A slow smile curved her mouth, and she leaned into him with a tiny sigh.

He dipped his head and murmured with his mouth close to her ear, "Look what I found in my lair. Mmm, Elena, you look delicious… good enough to eat!"

She frowned. She distinctly remembered hearing those words before. But when Damon blew a cool breath in her ear, all coherent thoughts flew right out of her head. His hands on her waist slowly glided down a little ways, smoothing the ruffles of her skirt over her hips. Elena turned around in his embrace and dreamily skimmed her fingertips up his arms.

Damon looked down at her, his eyes burning with blue fire.

Her eyes dropped away from his brilliant sapphire gaze, and she saw that he was wearing a black tank top, a mirror image of the white one he had been wearing when they'd been dancing in the rain. Her fingers traced the lithe, hard muscles in his upper arms and slid up to his shoulders to circle his neck.

Damon's mouth quirked up in a sexy smile, but he didn't say anything.

His hands on her hips urged her to start dancing, swiveling her hips in a slow version of the salsa moves they had been practicing. She realized that the music had been quietly playing all along; she just hadn't noticed! God, what was happening to her? She wasn't normally so slow on the uptake!

Following his directions, she gyrated her hips sensually, and lifted her eyes back up to meet his. Because of the shoes she was standing a few inches taller than usual, and she was now almost of a height with Damon. Their eyes locked and Elena's lips parted involuntarily.

His hands on her waist slipped further down to her backside and he drew her in closer to his body. Her hips continued their lazy circles, but now they bumped against Damon's, and she adjusted to his sensual rhythm. Elena felt butterflies stirring in her belly whenever they touched. She kept one hand on his shoulder and let her other hand slide down his chest and still further down. When her hand reached the hem of his tank top, she found she could easily slip her hand underneath, and her fingers started exploring the satiny skin covering the rock hard muscles of his stomach. She felt his abdominal muscles clench and unclench at her soft touch.

Damon sucked in an unnecessary breath and his eyes blazed down into hers. His hands on her bottom pulled her closer still so she felt the hardness that indicated he was far from indifferent to her attentions. Her breath caught in her throat at the sensation. She let her head fall back, and one of his hands came up to touch her face. Then she felt his finger trace what she knew to be her carotid artery, pressing slightly on her pulsing point.

Her heart began to race as the inevitable thought popped into her head: was he now wishing he could sink his teeth in there and taste her blood? And she couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like…

She was still surprised to hear herself ask in a soft, shaky voice, "Does it always hurt?"

Damon didn't pretend to misunderstand her. He whispered back, "No. Why would you think that?"

She hesitated. Somehow it felt like she would be revealing a very intimate detail of her relationship with Stefan if she told Damon about the way she allowed Stefan to drink her blood, but she replied nonetheless, "It hurts when Stefan drinks from my hand."

She felt him stiffen slightly at her confession, but she didn't know if it was because of her admission that Stefan drank her blood or because he didn't like to hear that Stefan had hurt her.

His knuckle was stroking her throat, creating electric shocks beneath her skin, and he said slowly, "Being bitten by a vampire only hurts if you fight it, or if the vampire wants it to hurt. Otherwise it can be a pleasurable experience for both parties involved."

She stood there, motionless now, and thought about what he had said. She'd been wondering about it for so long now. She was tired of not knowing! Resolutely, she looked at him and said, "I want you to bite me, Damon."

Damon frowned and opened his mouth. Elena could see the refusal in his eyes, so she put one finger on his lips to prevent him from speaking and said, "Please don't refuse me, Damon. You're the only one I can ask, the only one I would _trust_ to do this. I just want to know!"

He kissed the finger she'd put on his lips and she quivered and pulled her hand back.

He was silent for a moment, his eyes searching hers. Then he whispered, "Are you sure you want this, Elena?" But his eyes were begging her to say yes, and she found she really wanted him to do it.

She'd thought she would be afraid if she ever got to this point, but she wasn't, not in the least, because she knew he would never intentionally hurt her. So she didn't hesitate; she just nodded and said seriously, "Yes, Damon, I'm very sure."

Damon lowered his head very slowly, giving her plenty of time to reconsider. He kept his head turned to the side; Elena knew he did it so she wouldn't have to see the visage of the vampire, but she gently placed her hand on his cheek, making him face her. The thought came unbidden that this beautiful creature could just as easily bring either pleasure or death. She licked her lips and carefully touched a fingertip to one of his fangs.

Surprise was written clearly in Damon's eyes for a fraction of a second before the surprise gave way to a blazing heat that scorched all the way to her soul. She didn't feel any fear or revulsion, just a strong sense of anticipation that caused tremors to race under her skin. Why wasn't she afraid of him? She just knew that she wasn't. Without any doubt she tilted her head to the side, exposing her throat to him.

Damon's nose nuzzled her throat and he intentionally took a deep breath, inhaling her scent as if he was committing it to memory. Then his tongue started licking the silky soft skin of her throat, making her shiver with pleasure. She drew in a shaky breath and whimpered, the tension within her building and becoming almost too much to bear.

His lips vibrated on her throat when he murmured in a low voice that carried a note of amusement, "_Relax_, Elena. I'm good at this. That's why women are begging me to bite them all the time…"

When she giggled in spite of herself, relaxing her muscles, his fangs sank into her neck.

She gasped when she felt the double sting of his sharp predator's teeth penetrating her soft skin, but a moment later he started sucking her blood, and desire flooded her in an unexpected rush. Heat pooled low in her belly, spiraling outwards, and languorous warmth quickly spread to her limbs. The sensation was so much better than she could ever have imagined. Her eyes half-closed and she couldn't keep from moaning, "Oh _God_!"

He continued sucking her blood unhurriedly, and with every slow draw the heat within her increased tenfold, drowning her in a river of molten lava. She started panting.

Her knees went weak and her legs threatened to collapse, but Damon's arms were still around her and he supported her, sliding one leg in between hers to hold her up. Her throbbing core collided with his thigh, creating delicious pressure, and she groaned deep in her throat, eliciting an answering moan from him.

When he stopped sucking, she thought wildly that it was too soon; she wasn't ready for this to be over! So she clutched at his top, trying to keep him close, and begged in a husky voice, "_Please_, don't stop… OhGod_, _please…"

She writhed against him, helplessly pressing herself down on his leg. He took one last, deep draw of her blood; then he pulled back his fangs and cleaned the bite, soothing the sting with gentle licks of his tongue, but Elena was only dimly aware of it, because she'd suddenly crested the golden wave of incredible feeling she'd been riding and cried out, "_Damon_!"

Her eyes snapped open, her own cry resonating in her ears.

For all of two seconds she was disorientated. Then she recognized the familiar contours of her room, the curtains moving like restless ghosts at the open window. She was lying in her own bed, and she was quite alone.

But she was also gasping for breath, her heart was pounding and her body was throbbing. The sheets were tangled about her legs because she'd been tossing and turning and her skin was damp. It wasn't the first time she'd woken up exactly like this, and she realized that this wasn't the first time she'd had this dream, but it was the first time she remembered it upon waking.

Outside of the house, a dark shape broke away from the shadows below Elena's window, Elena's moans, pants and cries echoing in his ears. He knew what to do next.

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><p><strong>AN: so… *clears throat* … I hope that was <strong>**good**** for you too? **

**Make me happy and review**** if you liked it?**

**Serendipity (val_victrix)**


	20. The Morning After

**AN: Gosh, I was overwhelmed by the many reviews on last chapter ;) I was very happy you guys liked Elena's dream!**

**And thank you, as usual, to my kindred spirit across the sea, Shadowfaxangel ;)**

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><p>Elena couldn't fall sleep again after that, which wasn't at all surprising considering the emotional turmoil she was in. She was lying in her bed, eyes wide open, while her breathing gradually evened out and her heart rate slowed down. What on earth did a dream like that mean? Did she subconsciously want Damon to bite her? Why would she want that?<p>

Her mind screeched to a halt at the memory of the dream: after the initial sting of the bite, Damon drinking her blood had been incredible: how quickly the pain had turned to pleasure beyond words. Could it really be like this, or was it just her imagination's wishful conjecture? When Stefan had bitten her in the past, she'd always had the feeling that there should be more to it than just the pain.

But to ask Damon to bite her was going very far indeed! She'd never do that! Or would she? If that was how it would really feel… the intensity of the emotions and sensations coursing through her body, as if he was touching her everywhere at once, the excitement, the craving. She couldn't remember ever dreaming as vividly as this. It had seemed so real - too real -, almost as if… Her hand snuck up to her neck, automatically checking for her locket.

_It wasn't there!_ She sat up in her bed, panicking, and flipped the switch of the lamp on the bedside table, her eyes frantically scanning the bed. Finally, she located the silver locket, tangled in her sheets.

After yesterday's hallucination fiasco, she was sure she'd gone to bed wearing the thing, so it must have come undone while she'd been sleeping. Or could Damon have anything to do with it? He had screwed with her dreams before, but that was such a long time ago. Surely he wouldn't do that anymore? But what if he wanted to get his own back for her asking him to forget about the kiss?

She let herself fall back on the bed and sighed. Maybe the whole dancing thing hadn't been such a good idea after all. Caroline had been right: she hadn't known what she was getting herself into.

Her mind jumped this way and that, like a drop of water skittering about on a hot plate.

Why had she insisted on dancing with Damon? Why had she kept pushing Stefan away? He'd asked her time and again to switch partners and she'd lied about that. And now he knew… She'd have to look for him again and apologize. And tell him that if he really wanted her to, she could still change partners maybe?

Mind made up, she looked at the clock and sighed: only 7:00 am. It seemed she was making a habit out of getting up early during the weekends. She swung her legs out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom.

When she walked into the boarding house some time later, she carefully avoided looking in the big mirror next to the door. Besides, she knew that she would see a carefully chosen outfit. She wore a tight, pale pink, sleeveless top with a high Chinese collar and black capris. No plunging necklines or exposed throats for Elena Gilbert today: that way at least she couldn't land herself into any situations where she might be tempted to offer someone (anyone really), a drink straight from the source.

Now to find Stefan. She walked unwaveringly past the parlor and continued to the stairs. It was early yet. Stefan would probably still be in his room at this time of the morning. But when she got to his door, it was open. No Stefan. She dawdled for a minute, indecisive. Then she turned around: he might be somewhere else.

After having searched every room in the house that might hold Stefan, she finally walked into the parlor, where she did find someone. It wasn't Stefan though.

Damon was standing by the liquor cabinet, sorting bottles. For a wonder he was dressed. Only, he was wearing black jeans and a _tight, black tank top. _What the hell? Could it really be a coincidence that he was wearing the exact same clothes as in her dream?

"Hello, my dark princess," Damon drawled without turning around. "All those stairs… Are you getting your morning workout or are you looking for something?"

Elena halted just inside the parlor and said, "Damon. I don't suppose you know where I can find Stefan?"

Damon turned around and shrugged his shoulders, "Nope. I ceased to be my brother's keeper a very long time ago."

She turned to go, when Damon said, "But I _can_ tell you that my little brother might be somewhat upset…"

Elena turned around so quickly she almost fell. "What? How do you know that? Did he say something to you?"

"Again, no. But he's been raiding my liquor supply in a bad way. There are bottles missing," He looked back at the liquor cabinet and muttered under his breath, "He doesn't drink that often, but _when_ he does, he damn well knows where to find the good stuff!"

Damon thought to himself that Stefan must be truly upset, because unlike himself, Stefan didn't go for the alcohol as a first resort. He had a tendency to lock himself away to brood in a dark room with the curtains drawn for good measure, in true Mr. Rochester fashion.

Elena looked down dejectedly. She had absolutely no idea where to find Stefan; he was probably out hunting, and she'd never find him then. Well, there was nothing to do but wait for him to come back.

Damon saw her shoulders droop and frowned, "What's the matter, Elena? You seem a bit subdued today."

"I … I didn't sleep well," she mumbled, biting her lip self-consciously. "I had a bad dream."

She really must have something on her conscience to always be sleeping so badly, Damon reflected, but he said, "It can't have been about me, then. I only figure in the …" His voice dropped to a low register, making him sound positively wicked when he continued, "… really good dreams…"

Elena blushed and looked at him suspiciously. Unconsciously her hand stole up to her throat, to the place where he had bitten her in the Dream (yes it had a capital D in her head now), and where her skin still seemed more sensitive than usual. Just to make sure, she also touched her locket that was hidden underneath the high collar of her top.

Damon's eyes followed the gesture and his eyebrows rose. That certainly wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting!

He inched closer, stopping right in front of her. His finger traced the row of tiny little toggles on her top that ran all the way down from the high collar. He murmured, "Cute top, Elena. The _color_ suits you, but I have to say that I'm not too fond of the _collar._"

Elena blinked while she processed that remark. Then she narrowed her eyes. Was it a coincidence that he'd made a remark like that? Could he have anything to do with her Dream? Surely he wouldn't act all normal like he did if he'd had something to do with it?

"Such a pretty throat. It really is a shame you've covered it all up," Damon continued, his eyes following his finger's stroking movement. His knuckles touched her right on the sensitive spot he'd bitten in the Dream, lingering there.

Elena shivered involuntarily and took a step back. That was too much of a coincidence, surely? She frowned and said in a dangerously low voice, "What did you do to me, Damon?"

Again, not the reaction he'd though to get. Damon raised his eyebrows, "What did I do to you? Care to elaborate on that?"

"Don't act all innocent with me! This time I remember!" Elena stood her ground.

Damon blinked, "It would help if I knew what you remember? That way I might remember it as well."

Elena's certainty about Damon's involvement wavered slightly, but she pressed on, "The _Dream_, Damon!"

Damon frowned, "That sounded underlined, italicized _and_ bolded. Why would I have anything to do with your dreams?" He sounded genuinely surprised, but before Elena had time to answer, his brow cleared. A slow smile curled his lips; it made Elena swallow for it made him look dangerous and very, very sexy.

He took a step closer to her and purred, "You were dreaming about me." It sounded more like a statement than a question, so Elena didn't answer. Besides, there was no denying that she did dream about him.

By now she was fairly certain that he didn't have anything to do with her Dream, and the revelation shocked her to her core, because that meant that she'd dreamed it up all by herself.

Damon was observing her reaction like a hawk scanning for signs of prey, and he got plenty. "I see you're surprised. You didn't think you could make up a dream like that. Mmm, that must mean it was quite something…" He paused for a moment and then went on shrewdly, "Did we kiss in your dream? Nah, that's too easy…"

Another pause, then a lift of the eyebrows, "Did we make _love_? God, I would have loved to be a part of that dream."

Elena fidgeted, growing more uncomfortable by the minute. Damon noticed and surmised, "I see I'm getting closer, but by your reaction it was worse still. Let me think…"

He observed her critically, his eyes catching on the pink top. His eyes widened and he said, "Why are you suddenly wearing a collar like that, Elena? I've never seen you wear anything like it…"

He was getting too damn close, so she exclaimed, "Damon, stop it! I'm not telling you!"

He pouted, "Party-pooper! If you're going to accuse me of messing with your head, I want to at least know what I'm being accused of…"

Elena opened her mouth, but Damon shook his finger before her nose, "Ah Ah! I know you're not going to tell me, but I'm not stopping! This is way too much fun! Just give me a minute and I'll figure it out myself. By your reaction, I was getting close, so the collar must have something to do with it…"

Elena bit her bottom lip and Damon tapped his mouth pensively with one finger, "Now why would you wear a collar like that? Why would a girl who spends most of her time around vampires wear a high collar all of a sudden?" Elena was sure she heard amusement in his voice, damn him!

After a significant pause that had Elena squirming, he looked intently into her eyes and guessed, "Did you let me bite you, Elena?"

Elena's eyes widened, telling him he was right on the mark, so he leaned in closer and breathed in her ear, "I hope it was good for you? I'm sure it would have been for me as well, had I actually been there to do it!" He smirked.

She looked away and blushed profusely, whispering, "Damon, please, stop. I'm mortified as it is!"

"There's absolutely no reason to be mortified, as far as I'm concerned." Damon shrugged casually, "I already told you I would be happy to help if you wanted to live out your fantasies, and that most certainly includes this one!" His voice was positively dripping warm honey.

He paused before continuing more seriously, "Though I _am_ a bit hurt that you thought I would still try to get into your head, Elena. Aren't we a long way beyond that?"

Elena hung her head in shame. He was right. He wouldn't do that to her, not anymore.

It was just that the Dream had taken her completely by surprise, and if Damon didn't have anything to do with it… She pushed the thought away: she would think about it later, when she was alone and her face couldn't betray her every thought to the very observant vampire looking at her now.

So she avoided his eyes and mumbled, shamefaced, "I'm sorry, Damon. I know that wasn't fair. I actually do know that you wouldn't do that now…"

Damon put one finger beneath her chin and lifted her head. He looked at her intently for a minute, his eyes clear and transparent as spring water. He said, "Apology accepted, Elena." Then he smiled seductively, and whispered, "Do you know how you can make it up to me?"

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><p><strong>AN: Oops, I did it again. So sorry. No actually, I'm not. I already told you guys, I'm evil that way ;-) At least you got a longer chapter this time :D<strong>

**I hope you will let me know if you liked Damon and Elena the morning after. And how can she make it up to him?**

**val_victrix (twitter)**


	21. Turnabout is fair play

**AN: Still loving your comments! Thanks a million for boosting my spirits! **

**To Alicelover27: ik zal je reviews met plezier beantwoorden, maar dan moet je wel PM toelaten ;) (for those who are curious: this is Dutch! There's always Google translate LOL) **

**And to my precious beta Shadowfaxangel: here's to cocky green-eyed and blue-eyed heroes with dark hair! She'll undoubtedly know why ;)**

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><p>Elena's eyes dropped to his lips and her breath caught in her throat.<p>

Damon noticed what she was looking at. He laughed softly and said in a low voice that made chills run down her spine, "And to think I was only going to ask you for a _dance_… but by all means, feel free to act on your impulses!"

Elena felt another blush creep over her cheeks and averted her eyes. What was it with her today? But she knew. She was completely unsettled because of that strange dream, and by the fact that she seemed to have dreamed it up without any help whatsoever! Get a grip, Elena, she told herself sternly: there's going to be _no kissing_ and definitely _no_ _biting_ today!

But still she hesitated. She hadn't planned on dancing with Damon today. In fact she'd only come here with the idea that she would find Stefan and talk to him.

But since Stefan wasn't here, she might as well do something useful while waiting for him, and if all Damon intended to do was dance… surely that couldn't hurt? Besides, she did feel kind of bad for thinking he was responsible for messing with her head. So she looked at Damon and nodded in agreement. "Okay, but no funny business!"

"No, Ma'am," Damon said, bringing his hand to his forehead as though saluting her.

Then he added with a sardonic smile, "But can I just point out that _I_ wasn't the one dreaming about doing wicked things with yours truly?"

She swatted him on the chest to silence him and exclaimed, "Stop it already, Damon! I never should have told you about that silly dream!"

Damon tut-tutted indignantly, "Nothing silly about it. And you didn't exactly tell me either," He pouted. "I had to figure it out all by myself!"

Elena rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh, "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

"Actually, I was kind of hoping you might live up to it? " He said, amusement clear in his voice, "That way at least, there would be something in it for me, even if it's only a free lunch!"

When she consequently tried to smack him again, he leaned his upper body slightly backwards and grabbed her hand, curling his fingers around her fist.

Elena pursed her lips and quoted mock-seriously, "There's no such thing as a free lunch, Damon. Haven't you learned that by now?" She tugged to get her hand back, but he didn't let go.

Instead he contemplated her hand imprisoned in his for a moment. Then he looked at her from under his lashes and brought her hand up to his mouth, pressing his lips to her knuckles in a curiously tender gesture. Elena blinked in surprise, completely forgetting about trying to free herself from his grasp.

Still gazing at her, he told her quite seriously, "I'm well aware of that, Elena. Everything has a price. I would like nothing better than to taste your blood, but I don't doubt it would make me fall under your spell even more than I am already. And yet, that would still be a price I'd be willing to pay…"

Elena swallowed thickly. She remained silent because she didn't have a clue what to say. He'd sounded so sincere saying that; she felt as though a gaping hole was opening up at her feet: one step and she would go tumbling down, falling, falling hard. She wavered, on the verge of taking that step and closing the distance between them.

But Damon had already released her and taken a step back. In a much lighter tone of voice, he asked, "Shall we get dancing then? I got us some new music." He walked towards the table to pick up a few CD's and Elena concentrated on taking deep breaths, trying to steady her nerves.

When Damon turned back towards Elena, she was still standing there, staring at nothing in particular. He suppressed a tiny smile. Then he snuck up on her and said quietly, "Boo!"

Elena jumped and turned around so quickly that she almost lost her balance, "Dammit, Damon! What did you do that for?"

He shrugged and replied cheekily, "I just couldn't resist?"

He'd repeated the words she'd said yesterday after slapping the wet dishcloth against his chest. By the rascally expression on his face, he'd done it on purpose, so she grumbled, "It seems you can't control your urges any better than I can!"

"Wanna bet?" Damon said, and then cocked his head to the side, "On second thought, why don't we both just give in? Repressing those urges all the time… It can't be healthy!"

Elena shook her head in fake exasperation. She was usually quite good at witty repartee and flirty banter. Only it just so happened that Damon was better. She said with a tiny smile, "You might as well give up now. I promised myself that there wasn't going to be any kissing or biting today…"

"Feisty, aren't you? Who said anything about kissing or biting?" Damon flashed her a wicked smile.

Elena merely lifted her eyebrows at him saucily in response, causing him to growl dangerously, "Well, I guess we'll see how long you keep it up! Chop chop, get those dancing shoes on!"

Elena sank down on the couch and changed her shoes while Damon put on the music. Then, remembering that her flying hair got in the way more often than not, she pulled out her rubber band and made a ponytail.

When she was ready, Damon extended a hand to her and pulled her up, murmuring with a naughty wink, "Come on, Elena. Let's see you give it the best you've got. Seduce me! Give me a sexy sway of your hips. Convince me you've only got eyes for me. In short, show me you're ready for this contest of yours…"

Elena narrowed her eyes at the obvious challenge in Damon's words. He cocked one eyebrow sardonically: you're never going to do it, his eyes mocked. Elena pressed her lips together and raised both eyebrows, picking up the gauntlet. She walked into his waiting arms with a flirty little smile and started dancing, moving in closer to him than was exactly appropriate for salsa dancing.

They danced like that for a while, with Elena following Damon's lead easily. She was so comfortable with his way of dancing now that she hardly needed any direction to know what he intended to do. Besides, he was a very firm leader, able to communicate what he wanted by the smallest gesture or by merely changing his hold on her hand or back.

Her eyes never left his, and when he twirled her, she just broke the glance for a few seconds, turning her head quickly to focus back on his face as soon as she possibly could. She knew that's what she should do; he'd explained to her about the importance of keeping eye contact throughout the dance, even if it was only for her balance.

Only this time she decided to get her own back by teasing him a little. She'd use his own weapons against him. Turn the tables, so to speak, since he was always putting the moves on her. Well, he'd challenged her, and by god, was she going to make him regret it! He didn't think she'd be up to seducing him, was he? She'd show him exactly what she was capable of!

Feeling very daring, she lifted her chin defiantly and _truly_ looked at him, letting her appreciation show clearly in her eyes. That wasn't too difficult: she'd thought he was breathtakingly gorgeous from the first moment she'd laid eyes on him, but for Stefan's sake she'd suppressed those feelings and convinced herself to look on him as she would on a favorite brother. Only he wasn't her brother of course…

So for once she gave herself license to let her eyes openly roam his face, hungrily taking in the perpetually windblown hair falling rakishly over his forehead, the dark, sardonically curved eyebrows over the penetrating sapphire eyes framed by scandalously long black lashes, the straight patrician nose and perfectly chiseled jaw, and finally, that sinfully beautiful mouth… It was so unfair, she mused, that on top of everything else, he really had the most kissable mouth she'd ever seen on anybody!

Damon narrowed his eyes at Elena's intent perusal of his face. She looked at him so thoroughly that he could almost feel her eyes physically caressing his face. Damn the vixen! He had to really focus now to keep dancing instead of just wrapping his arms around her and kissing her senseless.

Suddenly Elena resisted him sending her into another spin. She deliberately took a step back, backing out of the circle of his arms, and when his hands let go of her, she grabbed both of his hands in hers.

Then she sent him a smile that positively oozed wicked delight, took a step closer again and put his hands on her hips, mirroring the way he'd put her hands on his hips two days ago.

Damon lifted one eyebrow and gave her an amused smirk, making it clear that he understood her not so subtle countermove. Still, he held his hands where she'd put them, following the swiveling movement of her hips. She kept her hands on top of his for a few moments, reveling in the glorious feeling of power that came with having the upper hand over Damon Salvatore.

Only, he obviously wasn't ready to start begging for quarter yet, so she decided to take it a little further. She squeezed his hands to indicate he should keep them exactly where they were; then she slid her own hands up his arms, just like he'd done with her, her fingers lightly grazing the hairs on his lower arms, barely touching him.

Damon tensed slightly, excruciatingly aware of Elena's feather light touches on his sensitive skin, but he kept dancing, although he was operating fully on autopilot while his nerve endings registered every slow inch her fingers crept upwards.

When her teasing hands reached his shoulders, she gripped them for a moment, feeling the muscles under her hands rippling with his movement. When her fingers suddenly bit into his flesh, Damon blinked, inadvertently breaking eye contact.

Elena used his distraction to let her own eyes follow the languorous slide of her hands down his chest. She swallowed when she saw her hands gliding over the ridges and hard planes of his upper body.

Then her hands moved up again, feeling the muscles leap under her fingers, all the way up to his bare shoulders. The thin cotton of his tank top started rucking up under her suddenly damp fingers.

Damon's hands were still resting lightly on the indentation of her hips, but he gradually increased the pressure, guiding her hips. Then his thumbs slipped underneath the hem of her top, stroking her bare skin very lightly. Her breathing hitched for a second, but she didn't say anything to stop him. Her eyes closed slowly and she gave herself over to simply _feeling_.

Damon noticed instantly how her dancing became more sensual, her hips undulating under his hands without him steering her. Her hands on his shoulders slid upwards and circled his neck, her fingers unconsciously tangling in his hair.

When she wet her lips with the tip of her tongue, Damon squeezed his eyes shut convulsively. He was fighting for control now: Elena was pulling the very ground from under him, leaving a gaping abyss for him to tumble into. And although he didn't really want to, he stopped dancing abruptly and grated out, "Elena!"

Elena opened her eyes, a slightly dazed look in them as if she was lost in a world of her own.

Those dreamy eyes were his undoing. He abruptly turned his back on her, saying huskily, "I need you to get out of here, Elena!"

Elena came back to the real world slowly. She looked at the forbidding expanse of his back, stunned. When his words registered, she put one hand on his arm as if to restrain him and said hesitantly, "Damon?"

He clenched his teeth and repeated, "Go away, Elena! Or I _will_ kiss you again."

Elena hesitated. She couldn't leave him like this. She just couldn't! And she didn't want to. Recklessly she tugged his arm, pulling him around to face her. He resisted for a moment. When he finally gave in and turned around to face her, she felt as if she might faint at the naked desire in his blue eyes.

He grabbed her upper arms in a bruising hold, and growled harshly, "I warned you!"

Then his mouth swooped down, claiming hers forcefully…

_To be continued (of course)_

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><p><strong>AN: Well, I hope you liked feisty Elena. Please drop me a little (or not so little as the case may be) review ) Please?<strong>

**2serendipity aka val_victrix on Twitter**


	22. Guilty as charged

**AN: My goodness, more than 30 reviews for the last chapter! You guys really are so sweet :) Thank you so much! **

**Also a big thank you as usual to my beta Shadowfaxangel. You're an angel ;)**

**And finally... where were we? Oh... right! Damon and Elena kissing... Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Previously on Shadowdancing...<em>

Recklessly she tugged his arm, pulling him around to face her. He resisted for a moment. When he finally gave in and turned around to face her, she felt as if she might faint at the naked desire in his blue eyes.

He grabbed her upper arms in a bruising hold, and growled harshly, "I warned you!"

Then his mouth swooped down, claiming hers forcefully…

Elena didn't even think of putting up a fight.

As his mouth hungrily fastened on hers, her head fell backwards and she moaned. Her lips parted without conscious thought to allow him access to her mouth. Just like the last time they'd kissed, she completely lost track of her surroundings and of her capacity to think.

Damon released his firm grip on her upper arms, his hands sliding upwards to cup her face. He was drinking her in, as if she was some kind of ambrosia that he couldn't get enough of. He felt like he was drowning in Elena, her warm mouth, her nimble tongue, her addictive scent.

Her hands automatically found their way around his back, and she held on for dear life, the heady sensation of Damon kissing her invading her senses, making her tipsy with the taste and feel of him. He tasted just slightly like bourbon, but mostly he just tasted overwhelmingly like Damon, sweet and spicy at the same time. It was excitement and danger and pleasure and a strange sense of belonging right there in his arms, all rolled into one.

Damon groaned and his hand slipped down to her backside, pressing her closer to him. Her lower body came into contact with the sizable bulge in his jeans and she was sorely tempted to melt into him...

… when suddenly a name floated up from somewhere out of Elena's befuddled mind. _Stefan_! What was she doing kissing _Damon_?

She broke away from Damon and took a step back, clapping a hand over her mouth in confusion.

Damon looked at her, understanding dawning quickly. She thought she saw a flash of hurt crossing his features, but he concealed it very quickly, a shuttered expression wiping his face carefully blank.

She mumbled, "Oh God!" before whirling around and running out of the parlor, her hand still on her mouth to stifle the sobs she was trying to hold inside. She hurried out of the house as though the devil himself was on her tail, though she was quite certain that Damon wouldn't be coming after her.

And he didn't. He just looked at Elena's departing back with a pained expression, feeling a tugging at his heartstrings as if she was taking a part of him with her. And so she was, though it was a part of him he didn't think he'd ever miss. After all, who'd ever heard of a vampire with a broken heart?

Elena rushed home in a state of total confusion. God, what had she done _now_? There was no one to blame but herself this time. It was no use telling herself that it was a fluke like she'd convinced herself after their kiss in the woods. If she thought of her behavior just now…

She'd positively _goaded_ Damon into kissing her. And he'd even warned her and told her to go away! But she hadn't gone away, had she? And by staying she'd practically begged him to kiss her again. She had truly betrayed Stefan in the moment she'd chosen not to run away from Damon when he'd given her the chance. He was a better person than she was, telling her to take the temptation away from him.

She walked into her room and threw herself on the bed in despair. When she buried her head in her hands, she heard something crackle beneath her. She sat up and glanced around.

There was a folded white sheet of paper lying on her bed. An ominous sense of foreboding made her pause for a minute.

What was _that_ doing there? She was quite certain it hadn't been there when she'd left this morning. Finally, curiosity got the better of her; she reached for it and quickly unfolded it. Curly handwriting that she recognized as Stefan's sprang at her from the page. What was this? She started reading.

_Elena my love, _

_I know you will be surprised when you read this. I know I chose the cowardly way out. I wrote you a letter when I should have told you this face to face. I should have talked to you. _

_But I can't. I know I would say things or do things I would regret later. Such is the state of my mind now. So I'm writing to you, and I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me for it. _

_I'm going away for a while. I have to. I know this will probably come as a shock to you, but I can't think of anything else to do at this point. _

_I just can't bear to be around as long as you're doing this (whatever "this" is) with Damon. It hurts too much, seeing you together. Seeing you touch him, even if you're only dancing. Watching him touch you as only a lover should. Hearing you talk and laugh with him as I should be doing, not him._

_You told me time and again that he was just your friend. And maybe you still think of him as only that, but I think you may be deluding yourself. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm afraid I'm right. I've seen the guilty look in your eyes whenever I interrupt you. I've seen the way you dance with him. You fall silent whenever I come in, as if you're sharing secrets to which I can't be a party. _

_I can't do this anymore, Elena. It's eating me up inside. I'm always angry nowadays, and I hate it. I can't go on feeling like this, because it's breaking me; it's slowly killing the person I want to be._

_I'm not asking you to quit the dancing contest. I asked you before, and you made it clear that you wouldn't. I know how much this means to you, so I'm not asking you again. I also asked you to consider me as your partner. You said it was impossible because Damon was registered as your dancing partner and it was too late for me. Too late…_

_Why didn't you tell me the truth, Elena? It doesn't matter how I know, but I found out that you could have easily swapped. I don't mean to say that you should have, but why did you feel you had to lie to me about it? _

_Perhaps you wanted to punish me for refusing to dance with you in the first place? You don't know how much I've regretted that stupid mistake! Or did you just want to do this with Damon instead of with me? Rest assured, you succeeded very well in the first by making sure of the second. Still, I would rather have heard the truth from your lips, however unpleasant… _

_Either way I feel distinctly 'de trop' now, as if there's you and Damon and then there's me - the proverbial third wheel. _

_The only thing I can do for you now is gracefully cede my place at your side to my brother, at least for the time being. Maybe this is just a whim of yours, a temporary insanity. Am I stupid for praying that it is? Maybe I am. All I know is that I will put up with many things to keep you. I don't want to lose you, Elena._

_I can't even find it in me to blame you for this. I know my brother. I've seen him weave his spells whenever you're dancing and I hate it. I warned him not to try and take you away from me. I'm not surprised he didn't listen to me. I expected as much from him, but not from you, which is why I can't help but think that you might want to be taken away, that you want him to seduce you. At least in your dreams it seems you do._

_I don't want to come to blows with my brother over you. Not just because it's a forgone conclusion who will come out the winner, but because it won't change anything in the end. If you choose him over me, so be it. I'll just have to learn to live with that. _

_He has shown that he can be constant in his affections for you. He's proven that he's willing to do whatever it takes to protect you, perhaps even more so than I am. However much it pains me to admit this now, I see more humanity in my brother than I have ever seen in the almost 150 years since I forced him to become a vampire. It can only be due to you, Elena. You bring out the best in both of us. If he's willing to change that much, forsaking his nature to the extent of allowing himself to care, to feel again, even to love again… _

_I simply can't stand in his way. Just like I don't want to stand in yours if it's him that you want…_

_So, Elena, I'm leaving you now so you can find out what you really feel. For me. Or, God help me, for my brother. I'm giving you the time until after the dance contest to figure out which one of us you really want to be with. _

_I know you will never truly search your heart if you're not pushed into it: you are that loyal. You are nothing like her in that repect. And I can't, I don't want to be pulling you one way if your heart wants to go another. At the end of the day, that isn't fair to my brother, and it isn't fair to me. I want you completely, Elena, or not at all. I don't want to share you with Damon. I am that selfish. _

_I'm not breaking up with you, Elena. I'm merely trying to give you the time to breathe. Don't try to find me. You won't. I beg you to not let Damon look for me either. Just use the opportunity I'm giving you to explore what's in your heart. I will come looking for you after the dancing contest and I hope you will then have the answer for me that I long to hear._

_Forever yours, _

_Stefan Salvatore_

Elena crumpled the letter in her fist. At first she was numb, but fairly soon she grew angry. How _dare_ he do this to her in a letter? He was right: it was a cowardly thing to do. Well, he wasn't getting away with this! When had he dropped the letter here? It couldn't be too long ago; she hadn't even been gone that long… A little devil on her shoulder whispered to her that it had definitely been long enough to kiss Damon. It had certainly been more than long enough to betray Stefan…

She shook her head, scattering the unwelcome thoughts. Then she jumped up, pushed the wadded letter the back pocket of her pants and rushed downstairs again. She didn't allow herself to think about this too long: she needed to hurry if she was going to talk to Stefan. Okay, so perhaps they needed to give each other some time, but he wasn't just going to walk away and dump this on her the way he'd done. The least he could do was say this to her face to face…

She flew out of the front door that she had just walked into barely half an hour ago, and hurried back to her car. With screeching tires she raced back to the boardinghouse, refusing to believe she might be too late. Surely he would still be there, packing or something? He might even be waiting for her to come…

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><p><strong>AN: So, what did you think of Stefan's decision? I hope this evolution isn't too disappointing: I just felt like Stefan doesn't really like confrontations all that much… Please drop me a little review? Thanks :)<strong>

**For all things TVD, you can also follow me on Twitter (val_victrix) ;) **


	23. The Truth about Fairytales

**AN: thank you so much to everbody who let me know that a) they thought the Delena kiss was hot, b) Stefan's letter was in character or c) they were happy to be rid of Stefan. I love you, guys :D**

**Also thank you, Shadowfaxangel! And happy writing ;)**

**I'm terribly sorry because this chapter is going to be somewhat short, but I promise that the next few chapters will more than make up for it ;) Enjoy!**

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><p>After Elena's departure, Damon just stood there and stared at the doorway for a full five minutes. Then he abruptly turned towards the decanters and poured himself a glass of bourbon. He lifted it to his lips and swallowed the contents in one go.<p>

He closed his eyes for a moment. The liquor hadn't succeeded in erasing the memory of Elena's sweet mouth. The taste and scent of her was too firmly imprinted on his taste buds…

He looked at the glass crossly. In a sudden burst of anger (at her? at himself? at his brother? He wasn't sure) he threw the glass towards the fireplace where it shattered into a myriad of little pieces that showered down onto the hearthstone with the tinkling sound of crystal chimes.

Just as quickly as the anger had surfaced, it was gone again. It was hopeless, he thought to himself. Elena would never choose _him_. She might kiss him now, but in the end it would always be Stefan. Why did history keep repeating itself? Why was he doomed to lose his heart to his brother's girl time and again?

He suddenly decided he was sick and tired of looking at the walls of the boarding house; he couldn't stand them for another minute! He trudged upstairs to swap his tank for a shirt, because he couldn't bear the reminder of Stefan that the tank represented, even if it was black!

Then he took himself off to the Grill to get plastered, in an attempt to escape Elena's elusive scent that seemed to follow him everywhere in the house these days. Or perhaps that was just his imagination…

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><p>Damon leaned his elbows on the bar, contemplating the tumbler of bourbon in front of him, when he felt someone approaching him from behind. By the footsteps he already knew who it was when the man slid onto the barstool next to his.<p>

Damon looked up and drawled, "Behold, the teacher! Fancy meeting you here!"

"Damon. What are you doing here?" Alaric answered, spotting the half full glass in front of Damon. "Isn't it a little too early to be drinking?"

"Daytime drinking is all the rage, Ric," Damon replied, rolling his 'r's exaggeratedly. Then he looked at Alaric with a frown, "Besides, if you feel that way, why are _you_ here?"

"I'm meeting Jenna, but I think I'm a little early," Alaric said, turning around on his stool and scanning the bar for his date.

"Mm, Jenna. You don't want to be seen with _me_ then," Damon warned, "You know the lovely Jenna doesn't exactly approve of me. Can't imagine why," he mused, "She used to think I was _hot_ once upon a time…"

Alaric called over the bartender and ordered a beer before saying in a slightly amused voice, "Watch it, buddy, you're talking about my girlfriend here. You do know it's not exactly polite to go around telling a guy that his girl thinks another guy is hot?"

"Whoever said I wanted to be polite?" Damon replied dispassionately, picking up his glass and draining half the contents in one gulp.

Alaric watched him with a frown, and inquired, "What's the matter, Damon? You seem angry."

"Nope, not angry," Damon said, and then he pensively tapped his nose and frowned. "Do you know? I think I'm… depressed. I'd take me some Prozac, but drugs never work on me of course." He paused, "Hmm, I wonder if it would help if I drain someone who's got Prozac in his blood? Maybe that might do the trick?"

Alaric rolled his eyes and said incredulously, "You're depressed? Why on earth would you be depressed?"

Damon was silent for a few minutes, staring into his glass. Then he looked at Alaric intently, "How about, I'm in love with a woman I can never have? Does that sound like a good enough reason?"

Alaric pursed his lips and asked, "Elena again?"

Damon shrugged and confirmed, "Elena again."

"Okay, I suppose that's a good enough reason, but what's changed about it? You've been in love with her for how long now? It's never depressed you before…"

"Uhuh, I know, I'm pathetic. Rub it in," Damon sighed.

"Besides, what makes you think you can never have her?" Alaric asked carefully, knowing he was treading on dangerous ground. Nevertheless, he felt that he owed it to his friend to tell him the truth, or at least the truth as he saw it.

"Oh, come on, Ric!" Damon exclaimed, and started counting on his fingers, "There's just the pesky little problem that she's my brother's girl. Then there's my annoying conscience that knows I don't really deserve her like he does, so I can't just take her from him. Oh, yes, and then there's the fact that she doesn't _want_ to be taken from him…"

Alaric mulled this over for a moment and then said, "Are you quite sure about that?"

Damon groaned and buried his head in his hands, "Well, I'm as sure as I can be after we shared a passionate kiss this morning… before she remembered Stefan, came to her senses and ran out on me…"

Alaric's eyebrows shot up, "Again? Well, for a girl who claims to be in love with your brother, she sure is kissing _you_ a lot, my friend! Don't you think that's kind of significant?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm irresistible and all," Damon shook his head incredulously, "You know, I never pegged you as a closet romantic, Ric. Don't tell me you actually believe in fairy tales!"

"Look who's talking!" Alaric huffed, "You're a _vampire _for heaven's sake! You're a living, breathing fairytale!"

Damon raised an eyebrow and observed sarcastically, "I beg to differ, Ric. Living and breathing? Not so much."

"Smartass," Alaric grumbled, and one corner of Damon's mouth quirked up in a slight smile.

Alaric went on, "Oh, for gods' sake, Damon! You of all people have to admit that fairytales are real, and that there are werewolves and vampires and witches who walk among us!"

He made a wide gesture with his arm, as if to show that they were indeed everywhere, knocking over his bottle of beer in the process. Only Damon's quick reflexes saved the bottle from shattering on the floor. With a wry expression he handed it back to Alaric, who accepted it with a lift of his eyebrows as if to say he'd just been proven right.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm with you. Fairytales are real. Do you actually believe in the tooth fairy as well?" Damon inquired.

Alaric replied dryly, "Well, _no_. Since fairies don't actually exist!"

Damon raised his eyebrows, and Alaric hesitated, suddenly looking unsure, "Um… They _don't_, right?"

Damon laughed and answered matter-of-factly, "Not as far as I know. Then again, I don't know everything. I lived almost a 170 years thinking werewolves only existed in books and really bad movies, so…" He shrugged.

Alaric slapped his back triumphantly, "That just proves my point. Fairytales _can_ come true and happy endings _are_ possible."

"But unrequited love sucks any way you look at it," Damon sighed, suddenly serious again. "Elena will never admit that she feels something for me, Ric. I'm beginning to believe her when she says it will always be Stefan. Every time I think we're getting somewhere, she's always very quick to relegate me back to my perpetual status of 'just a friend'."

Alaric rolled his eyes, "She's sure got a funny way of showing her friendship then. At least,_ I _don't go around French-kissing my friends!"

"I should hope not!" Jenna's voice interrupted them at that point and Alaric's head whipped around. He gave her an apologetic smile and she ruffled a hand through his hair and gave him a kiss. Then she looked at Damon, thunderclouds gathering in her eyes. "Who's French-kissing who? It'd better not be Elena you're talking about. Unless you're discussing your wet dreams with Ric now?"

Damon lifted an eyebrow at Jenna's audacious remark, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

Jenna scowled and said with an edge to her voice, "Damon?"

Damon deadpanned sweetly, "Jenna?"

"God, you're obnoxious!" Jenna exclaimed and added with a frown, "And you're way too old for Elena."

A smile flashed across Damon's face, there one instant and gone the next. "If you only knew," He drawled enigmatically, before getting up, giving Alaric a wink and sauntering out of the Grill, leaving Alaric suppressing a smile and Jenna frowning in puzzlement.

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><p><strong>AN: Well, I know it was kind of short (and it didn't fit to put it in with the next bit LOL), but I still hope you liked Damon and Ric. I think they're just so cute together! Please review and let me know if you liked the truth about fairytales!<strong>

**2serendipity or val_victrix (twitter)**


	24. The Awakening

**AN: Thank you for all those lovely reviews! I want to apologize for not replying to all my wonderful reviewers yet: I will! It's just that I've been incommunicado for a few days due to no internet access by the seaside ;) **

**Well, this was the chapter my computer ate… and I couldn't find it again, in spite of all the help provided by my wonderful computer-knowledgeable beta Shadowfaxangel. Thank you for all your efforts, my amazing friend! I really appreciate it ;)**

**And finally, I borrowed the title for this chapter from LJ Smith.**

**In spite of the rewriting, I hope you guys will still like Elena's … whatever this is… Enjoy!**

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><p>When Elena arrived at the boardinghouse, she parked her car haphazardly in the driveway, and without looking left or right, she flew up the stairs, straight to Stefan's room. The door slammed against the opposite wall when she barged in without knocking…<p>

… only to suddenly halt in her tracks when she saw there was nobody there. The anger flowed out of her in a rush, as if she were a deflating hot air balloon.

She walked to the closet and opened it as if she was in a trance: there were definite signs of someone who had packed in haste: shirts were torn off the hangers, T-shirts were lying in a crumpled heap on the bottom of the closet, … Stefan's favorite hoodie was missing from its customary place on the hook against the door.

She closed the doors of the closet again slowly, while her eyes went to the desk, scanning it for Stefan's diary that was normally sitting in the right hand corner, ready for him to write the day's entry. She heaved a sigh when she didn't find it. If his diary was missing, that meant that Stefan was well and truly gone already.

She was too late.

Her shoulders sagged in defeat. She backed to the bed and sank down on it.

When she let herself fall down on the bed, she felt a lump in the back pocket of her pants. Sitting back up, she reached back and extricated Stefan's crumpled letter. She stared at it for a moment before slowly smoothing the crackled paper with both hands. Then she started rereading the letter.

'_Why didn't you tell me the truth, Elena?' _She remembered how Stefan had asked her the day before if she would consider switching partners again, and she'd been wondering if he'd meant something by that. Apparently he knew now that she'd been lying. She sighed again.

'_Maybe this is just a whim of yours, a temporary insanity…'_ Just yesterday she would have gone along with that sentiment, only now she wasn't so sure anymore.

'_I know you will never truly search your heart if you're not pushed into it…'_ Could he be right? Was she deceiving herself?

Unbidden she thought of Caroline's multiple warnings about dancing with Damon, and now there was Stefan's letter telling her that he believed she and Damon were more than just friends. _'Maybe you still think of him as only that, but I think you may be deluding yourself...'_

Then another line jumped out at her. '_You__ want him to seduce you. At least in your dreams it seems you do…' _Surely Stefan couldn't know anything about the dream she'd had last night? But what else could he mean?

She closed her eyes for a moment, reliving the sensation of Damon biting her and the incredible rush of feelings his love bite had wrought inside of her, even to the point of, well, having her own happy moment. She blushed at the memory.

_'I've seen the way you dance with him...'_ Yes. How could she completely lose herself, just dancing with Damon? Why the constant craving to touch him, to kiss him?

And when he did kiss her…

The letter slipped from her suddenly numb fingers. She squeezed her eyes shut when the truth hit her like a ton of bricks.

_She was in love with Damon Salvatore. _

She fell back on the bed. Staring at the ceiling with unseeing eyes, her mind sluggishly tried to grasp the astounding concept that seemed so patently obvious once her eyes had been opened to the truth.

_God help her, she was in love with Damon... _

How on earth had that happened?

She'd been so sure that could never be! When Damon had first come to Mystic Falls, he hadn't been a very nice person. Quite the opposite, in fact! He had done so many bad things to so many people, and not the least to her. She couldn't possibly have fallen in love with someone like that.

But Damon wasn't that person anymore, was he? He had changed a great deal since then. He'd changed into someone she could have fallen in love with…

Who was she kidding? He'd changed into someone she had fallen in love with!

Granted, she had been attracted to him from the very first moment she'd laid eyes on him. But as she'd told herself many times, that was only physical attraction, and there was no denying that Damon was one hot specimen. Even aunt Jenna had said so, and she didn't have a lot of positive things to say about Damon on a good day. But surely she wasn't so shallow that she would fall for just another pretty face?

Looking back in hindsight (which is always 20/20, she thought ruefully), she could see that a defining moment in her relationship with Damon had been their road trip to Georgia after she'd found out that Stefan had kept the truth from her about being a dead ringer for Katherine. That's when her view had first started to shift, when she'd first seen his fun loving side...

There were many more shifts. When he'd found out Katherine wasn't in the tomb and she'd seen his bone deep sorrow and pain. When they'd saved Stefan together, and she'd realized that Damon truly cared about his brother. Then there had been the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant that should have been a poignant indication of her own growing attraction for him (but which she'd deftly ignored); the Isobel debacle, followed by the discovery of Damon's feelings for her; and of course Founder's day, when she couldn't let him die. His desperation when she'd unjustly told him she didn't reciprocate his feelings, and the way he'd fought tooth and nail to resurrect their friendship. His fierce determination to protect her at all costs, even when she didn't want to be saved. Her equally fierce determination to redeem him, even when he said he didn't want to be redeemed, but she knew better...

Truth be told, they'd always had a strange sort of connection between them, an intuitive understanding of one another that went beyond words. Occasionally Damon demonstrated his uncanny knack for seeing right through her, as he'd done when telling her to just quit the silly cheerleading already, and also, if she was honest, every time he'd told her there _was_ something between them and she'd refused to admit it.

But how was it possible that she hadn't noticed that the initial, superficial friendship she'd felt for Damon had turned into something deeper... had grown into _love_?

She hadn't noticed because it had all happened so gradually that she hadn't been aware that her heart could be in any danger. She had felt secure in her love for Stefan, so much so that it had blinded her to everything and everyone else. She'd missed all the telltale signs of trouble.

Like the fact that she hadn't minded so much that Stefan had refused to participate in the dancing contest as soon as she'd known that Damon would take Stefan's place, just like he had in the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant. Oh, God... Just like he had in her heart?

In spite of several warnings, she'd foolishly left her heart unguarded. She hadn't been prepared to fight because she hadn't even been aware that there might be something _to_ fight… And so Damon had staged his assault, and undetected, he'd breached her defenses and taken up residence in her mind and in her heart.

She'd been so sure that place was already taken by Stefan… always Stefan… only Stefan. But it wasn't.

Her hands fisted, gripping the sheets tightly when guilt crashed into her with a vengeance. She didn't just feel guilty for betraying Stefan in the worst possible way; she also felt guilty for keeping Damon at arm's length all of this time, when apparently she didn't have the right to.

The ceiling blurred when tears flooded her eyes in a sudden rush. She didn't even attempt to stop them. She blinked and the tears spilled over and ran into her hair, starting to itch. She didn't pay it any attention.

Her mind was too busy revisiting the past, cataloguing all the little moments of intimacy between her and Damon. Surreptitious touches and lingering looks she should by rights have recognized for what they were. There had simply been too much tension, too much feeling, just _too_ _much_ for 'just' friendship. It was more like a game of playful teasing, sexual attraction and flirty banter between two people who were hovering on the brink of becoming something more than friends...

It was so blatantly obvious to her now. How could she have missed it?

How could anyone have missed it? The answer was painfully simple. Nobody had, except for her… Caroline's remarks suddenly made a lot more sense now, as did Stefan's jealousy.

And now Stefan was gone. He'd left because he wanted her to search her heart and find out what she really felt. For him. _Or for Damon_. God help him, she'd already found his answer. All it had taken was this one letter…

Fresh tears sprang to her eyes, and her nose started running. She sat up, looking for a handkerchief. When she reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the box of Kleenex, her dangling feet hit something on the floor that fell over with a dull thud.

She leaned her head over the side of the bed to see what it was, and came up with a nearly empty bottle of bourbon that had been standing on the floor next to the bed. She had a sudden flashback to Damon telling her of Stefan's absconding with part of his liquor supply: this was apparently where the bottle had gone.

After blowing her nose, she contemplated the dregs of brownish liquid in the bottle. There must be a reason why people who wanted to forget about their problems so often took to drinking. She knew that they usually regretted it afterwards, but at the moment she was in desperate need of something, anything that could dull her emotions. So she pulled the cork off the bottle with a hollow plunk and drank the little alcohol it contained straight from the bottle.

As soon as she swallowed it, she started spluttering and coughing violently. God, what manner of vile tasting stuff was this? Did people really drink it for fun? She felt the alcohol burn its way down her throat. Maybe it would get better when she got used to it? But the bottle was empty now.

Still, there was surely more where this came from?

Determinedly she pulled herself off the bed, dropping the bottle onto the crumpled letter on Stefan's bed. Then she headed for the stairs to inspect Damon's supply of alcoholic beverages...

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><p><strong>AN: So, the epiphany. Elena's finally come to her senses. I'm a little insecure about this one: I hope it was somewhat believable? Review and let me know, please? And up next... yay! Delena!<strong>


	25. Tipsy Turvy

**AN: Thank you, ye faithful reviewers! Thank you, wonderful beta! **

**Just a little rant about the season 3 teaser. Those silly writers! They've stolen my scene right from under my nose - I guess you all know which one I mean - It's coming up in a few chapters, but I solemnly swear it was already written!**

**At the moment, Elena is still drowning herself with Damon's secret (or not so secret perhaps) stash ;) Enjoy!**

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><p>A few hours later Elena was lounging on the couch in front of the empty, dark fireplace. She had no idea how long she'd been sitting there, occasionally taking a swig from the bourbon she'd appropriated out of Damon's supply. It was a good thing he kept the liquor cabinet properly stocked, she mused. And he had the good stuff… after downing almost half a bottle of bourbon, she was starting to get an appreciation for the taste; or at least for its mind-numbing capacities.<p>

With a slightly unsteady hand, she poured herself another glass, and put the bottle down with a little too much force.

As she sat there, cradling the glass in her lap, she felt rather than heard someone enter the parlor, and she turned her head slowly, forcing her eyes to focus on … wait! Two Damon Salvatores? She couldn't help thinking that that would surely be too much for the female population of Mystic Falls (including herself) to handle.

Damon was quite surprised to find Elena back at the boardinghouse, looking slightly the worse for wear. Her hair had mostly released itself from the ponytail and her high-collared Chinese top was unbuttoned a ways, exposing her neck and quite a bit of cleavage. His eyes lingered there for a minute, and before he could stop himself, the thought had already popped into his head that she made a truly magnificent picture, despite her evident disarray, or maybe just because of it? It made her appear less severe, more accessible somehow…

He frowned when his eyes fell on the bottle of bourbon next to her on the floor, and he noticed she was nursing a nearly full glass in her lap. By her unfocused look, it obviously wasn't her first either… Why was she getting herself drunk, all alone in the empty house? And where the hell was Stefan?

Approaching her slowly, he said gently, "Hey, Elena. You do know that you're underage for drinking this kind of stuff, right? It's quite a bit stronger than lemonade."

"Uh huh, I know," Elena nodded solemnly and made an effort to stand up. When she couldn't immediately get her legs to support her, she held up the glass and told him seriously, "But this is _good_ stuff!"

"I'll just bet it is," Damon smiled ruefully when he noticed which bottle she had unearthed. It was one all the way from the back of the liquor cabinet, a damn fine bourbon he had been keeping for a very special occasion. Oh, well.

He extended a hand to her and pulled her up from the couch. She wobbled a bit, but as she didn't fall over, he let go of her. Then he pried her fingers from the glass, and said reasonably, "Come on, Elena. Give me that, and I'll take you home."

"N… _no_! That is mine! Just get your own," Elena pouted, trying in vain to determine which glass of the two glasses she saw Damon holding was the right one. Her hand waved through the air aimlessly, missing the glass by a long shot. She did, however, get her hand on Damon's chest, and, having found something stable and unmoving, held on to it.

Damon looked down at her, wondering why she'd been drinking like that. It wasn't like Elena at all. He supposed it wouldn't do him any good to ask her what she was about. She was probably way too inebriated to remember anything beyond her name, but still, he cupped her cheek with one hand as he asked her softly, "Why are you sampling my best liquor, Elena?"

Elena looked up at him with big eyes, "Wanna forget. All Stefan's fault. Stupid letter!" She mumbled inarticulately.

Damon's eyebrows lifted in surprise. He was lost in thought for a moment: he'd known of course that there was tension between them about the salsa dancing, but he hadn't realized it had gone that far already. Had she and Stefan had a fight? Had Stefan seen more than he ought to? It did seem as if he'd found out about the registration too… Had Stefan driven Elena off with his jealousy? Or had Elena confessed to Stefan about kissing him? What letter was she talking about?

Suddenly he became aware of hands fumbling with the buttons of his shirt.

He glanced down to see Elena squinting at him, clumsily trying to undo his buttons. She wasn't having much success, but he asked anyway, "What are you doing?"

"S… a stupid shirt…" Elena mumbled, giving the buttons the evil eye for refusing to cooperate with her.

Damon bit back a smile. A stupid shirt, was it?

"Why is that, Elena?" He asked softly, uncomfortably noticing she had succeeded in undoing at least one button already. Worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, she resolutely started working on the next one.

He thought she would ignore his question, but she didn't; what she answered made him tense though.

"Wanna see my pretty Damon…" Elena hiccupped and smiled in delight as she succeeded in pushing another button through its buttonhole.

Damon frowned. While he was not averse to Elena's ministrations as such, this was probably not the best idea, not when she was so very drunk and upset about whatever it was that had driven her to drink in the first place. Not to mention that he wasn't exactly sober either!

When he tried to dislocate her hands, she resisted, doggedly hooking her fingers in the soft fabric, only to lose her balance completely. Since she was already clutching Damon's shirt, the buttons got to bear Elena's full weight for the moment it took Damon to grab her. The buttons didn't stand a chance; with a ripping sound, they gave way, flying all over the place. Elena almost fell to the ground but Damon grabbed her just in time and hauled her back upright.

She cast a proud glance at his exposed chest, as if his now gaping button-less shirt was her own accomplishment. Which in a way it was, he thought wryly.

She smiled with glee, bringing her hands to his exposed stomach and caressing his abs. Then her fingers traced the contours of his pectoral muscles and she murmured, "_Pretty_ Damon… soft and _hard_… _hot_ and cold," She giggled and licked her lips, her eyes fixed on his bare chest hungrily.

Damon's muscles clenched, involuntarily responding to her small, warm hands roaming his cool flesh. He knew he had to put a stop to this, however much he would have liked for it to go on - and on - but he suspected that Elena might never forgive him for taking advantage of her in her drunken state.

With regret he grabbed her hands and tried to get through to her, "Elena, you need to stop!"

But she didn't pay him too much attention. Her hands were caught in his, making it impossible for her to touch him any longer, so she took a step closer and pressed herself up against him.

Damon's breath left him in a hiss, "Elena! Dammit, how much have you been drinking? It hasn't been that long since we were dancing this morning!"

Elena gazed at him unblinkingly, but obviously not understanding too much. She did pick up a word she knew however, and said enthusiastically, "_Yes_! Let's dance!" She thought fuzzily that she always felt so wonderful when dancing, so maybe that would work just as well now?

"Elena, listen to me!" Damon tried again, releasing one of her hands to tuck a strand of her hair that had fallen over her face, behind her ear.

Elena immediately took advantage of him releasing her hand to slide it over his chest. Then she boldly tried to push the ruined shirt off his shoulders. Damon shrugged it back on and hastily took hold of her roaming hand again. It was almost as though she had more hands than he did!

He attempted to look at her sternly at the same time, but he didn't succeed very well, because an endearing frown appeared between her brows and she whined, "_Buzzkill_!"

It was totally a word he could have used (doubtlessly _had_ used) in similar circumstances, and it sounded incongruous coming out of Elena's mouth, especially since she was using it to him of all people! One corner of Damon's mouth quirked up in a slight smile.

But Elena's drunken one-track mind refused to be diverted. Focused on what she wanted, she pouted and looked at him pleadingly from under her lashes, "_Damon_? Dance? Pretty please?" She batted her lashes entreatingly.

He shook his head with an indulgent smile, knowing he simply wasn't strong enough to resist her. So he yielded and released her hands, "Okay, Elena, just one dance then!"

She smiled in satisfaction that she'd gotten her way and pushed closer to him. How on earth was he going to dance with her like this? She obviously wasn't planning on assuming proper dancing positions, because she slid her hands over his chest and up to his neck to twine them there, leaving him no choice but to put his hands on her hips.

When she started sensuously undulating her hips, he frowned. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all…

Drunk or not, Elena possessed a very great innate sensuality, and now that she wasn't inhibited by her normal reserve, she let loose with a vengeance. She shimmied closer to him, as close as she could get, her swiveling hips bumping against his.

Well, he'd promised her _one_ dance, so she was going to get that… but definitely no more! He might be good at controlling himself, but he wasn't made of stone!

Still, he might as well enjoy it while it lasted. He bent his knees slightly, sinking down to her level so their hips fit together while they were lazily making big circles and figure eights. They weren't exactly dancing salsa, but he couldn't care less at the moment.

Against his better judgment, his hands slowly slid down to cup her buttocks, and he pulled her closer to his body...

_To be continued…_

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><p><strong>AN: And … cut! <strong>

**Yes, you know me… but there will be more of this on Monday! Cross my heart and hope to die (well, not really, unless it would mean joining the select company of those scrumptious TV-vamps LOL) So please review and let me know whether you liked drunk Elena? **


	26. Sugar and Spice

**AN: Thanks for the reviews, guys! I guess that means you still like it :) **

**Well, it's Monday so you get another chapter of Shadowdancing! And ****I decided to reward you all for your loyalty by a long (longest yet) and sexy chapter full of Sugar and Spice, better known as Delena!**

** And the heat goes on… Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Previously on Shadowdancing…<em>

Damon bent his knees slightly, sinking down to Elena's level so their hips fit together while they were lazily making big circles and figure eights. They weren't exactly dancing salsa, but he couldn't care less at the moment.

Against his better judgment, his hands slowly slid down to cup her buttocks, and he pulled her closer to his body...

Elena's eyes slid closed and a blissful expression appeared on her face. She felt as if she was exactly where she belonged, being held in Damon's strong arms. She rested her head in the hollow between his neck and his shoulder for a moment. But all too soon her fuzzy mind was no longer content with that, so she turned her head to nuzzle his throat, and started peppering his fair skin with butterfly kisses.

Damon felt his body stirring and wondered if she knew what she was doing to him. He just hoped she didn't think he was Stefan now!

Every thought of his brother flew right out of his head when she mumbled, with her warm mouth pressed against his throat, "Mmm, _delicious_…" Then she giggled, "Delicious _Damon_…"

So, she knew exactly whom she was making out with. And Damon found that that was an incredible turn-on. He groaned, feeling himself harden as her caresses grew bolder and her blunt teeth started nibbling the velvety skin of his shoulder.

"Now what?" He thought desperately. He could easily overpower her, but he didn't want to hurt her in any way. And even while he realized he'd better make her stop, this tantalizing glimpse of Elena making it very clear that she wanted him was extremely hard to resist, because it was exactly what he'd been craving for so very long…

Suddenly, Elena licked a wet trail down his throat, her warm tongue sending shivers of delight down his spine. Damon closed his eyes and shuddered, wanting so much to give in… but after a few moments, he steeled himself and his hands slid up her body to her arms. He gripped her upper arms firmly and forcefully set her away from him. If he was going to stop her, it had to be now_,_ while he still could!

Elena's eyes opened, blinking uncertainly. When her passion clouded gaze focused on his face, she immediately took a step forward again, wordlessly reaching for him.

Damon hastily took a step backwards, forgetting for a moment that the couch was right behind him. The back of his legs hit the couch, and he looked behind him in surprise. His distraction was enough for Elena to take another step forward and push him deliberately backwards. He was so astonished that he just went with the movement and dropped down onto the couch.

Elena didn't immediately follow him. She tilted her head to the side, looking down at him with half closed eyes, and cooed, "He won't get rid of _his _shirt_, _so I'll get rid of _mine_…"

Damon's eyes widened when her hands rose up to the little toggles closing her top. They were already partway undone, but now she started undoing the rest, slowly but surely working her way down. He stared at her, mesmerized, too stunned to stop her. Despite her intoxication, she succeeded in undoing the lot of them surprisingly quickly.

When the last toggle had been untied, she looked up again. With a seductive smile she shrugged out of the top and let it fall to the floor, revealing her lacy purple bra.

Damon's eyes reflexively dropped down to admire the lithe, gracious body that had constituted a recurring theme in a great many of his dreams. When he shifted uncomfortably, Elena's seductive smile turned triumphant and she wet her lips with the tip of her tongue in anticipation. Damon swallowed, unsure how much of this Elena he could withstand.

Elena took one step closer and straddled him, her knees on the couch as she pressed herself up against him. Her hands grabbed his shoulders, nails digging into his firm flesh. Before Damon could say anything, she was leaning over him, her hair tumbling down and tickling his face. Her mouth unerringly found his and she crushed her lips on his in an openmouthed, hungry kiss.

She tasted just slightly like bourbon, and just as intoxicating, making it downright impossible for him to resist kissing her back. When her warm tongue slipped into his mouth, he growled low in his throat, and deepened the kiss, his hand coming up to tangle in her hair and keep her head in place as he explored the sweetness that was her mouth.

Elena felt a familiar tension beginning to coil in her stomach and her breathing grew erratic. Her hands slid downwards from his shoulders to slip underneath his open shirt and feverishly roam his chest. Heat spiraled outwards from her core, its tendrils quickly flowing to all of her extremities. This felt _so_ good; it had to be the right thing to do, she thought for a fleeting lucid moment.

Damon's hands were now busily exploring soft skin that felt scorching hot where she rubbed herself against his cool body. When his hand brushed the fabric of her bra, Elena moaned into his mouth and suddenly sank down on his lap, her knees having turned boneless, no longer capable of supporting her weight. Oh, but this was even _better_…

She gasped for air as she pushed down on his hardness and rocked back and forth, creating much needed friction.

Damon's head fell back when Elena began grinding herself against him. He knew his resolve to keep this from ending with her in his bed was wavering dangerously. He was quickly getting sucked in way too deep and he could almost feel the water closing over his head. It was clear that Elena had just one thing on her mind now, and it was just as clear that she wasn't going to be the one to stop.

With his last ounce of strength, he seized her arms to hold her still, eliciting a disappointed mewling sound from her that almost made him reconsider.

She was breathing heavily now and looking at him through heavy-lidded eyes. Tears started slowly welling in her eyes as she whispered huskily, "Don't you _want_ me, Damon?"

He groaned and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he opened them again and looked her in the eyes intently, willing her to believe him as he said, "_God_! Yes, I want you soverybad! I want you more than anything I've ever wanted!"

She smiled tremulously and a big fat tear slid in slow motion down her cheek. Unable to check himself, his hand came up to catch the tear on the pad of his thumb; he brought his thumb to his mouth and slowly licked the tear off as if he wanted to taste it.

Elena's eyes widened and her breath hitched in her throat. How did he do it? She wanted him more than she'd though possible, and then he went and did something to make her want him even _more_…

But when she extended a trembling hand and tried to push the shirt off his shoulders once again, he grabbed her hand and pulled it away, shaking his head slightly. She pressed down on him again and whimpered, "Damon, _please_! I need to…"

Damon shushed her by putting a finger to her lips and said tenderly, "I'm very sorry, Elena. I know what you need. And I'd like nothing better than to give it to you. But not like this… When it happens, I want you to be sure it's what you really want."

Elena looked at him beseechingly and pleaded, "But I am sure! I really want this! I need you, Damon! I…" Just then she hiccupped, forcefully reminding Damon that although she sounded a lot more sober than she had a while ago, she was still three sheets to the wind.

So he deftly shifted her away from him and said resolutely, "I don't want you doing this while you're drunk so you can regret it tomorrow, Elena. When you're sober and you still want me … Well, I can safely promise you that I won't stop until we're both of us well and truly sated."

He put one hand underneath her knees and one hand under her shoulders and stood. The irony didn't escape him: here he was, uncomfortably aware of the pressure in his painfully tight jeans, while at the same time he was holding a very willing and only half-dressed Elena in his arms.

He sighed, resigned to the fact that he was going to need a very, very cold shower next.

Elena pouted but finally acquiesced, nestling herself in his arms and clasping her hands around his neck as he carried her out of the parlor and up the stairs. She looked up at him coyly when he started mounting the stairs and asked with a cheeky smile, "Where are you taking me, Damon?"

Damon looked down at her and said regretfully, "I never thought I'd say this, but… you need to sleep it off, Elena, so I'm putting you to bed."

"Mmm. Care to join me in that bed?" She wiggled a bit in his arms, and he tightened his grip slightly, giving her an admonishing glare. She giggled and snuggled closer, deeply inhaling his intoxicating scent. Had he always smelled this good? How come she'd never noticed?

Once upstairs, he hesitated. He would have loved to put her in his own bed, but that might not be such a good idea since he still didn't know exactly what had happened between her and Stefan. Tomorrow they might be thick as thieves again, and he'd be the odd man out. Business as usual.

Besides, he knew that he'd never be able to keep his hands off her if he put her in his bed in this condition. If they were in a bed and she started making advances again… Suffice it to say she wouldn't be sleeping it off _at all!_

With a resigned shrug, he turned to the stairs leading up to Stefan's room. If they'd really had a fight, Stefan would probably not go in if he saw Elena was there. He was sure of that much at least. He pressed down the door handle with his elbow and pushed the door open, careful not to bump Elena. She was drowsily clinging to him now, almost asleep.

He frowned when he saw the empty bottle on the bed. Surely Elena hadn't drunk all of that? She'd be long passed out for sure.

Carefully he laid her down on the other side of the bed. She sighed and relaxed into the sheets. He stood looking down at her for a moment, and then he bent to remove her shoes, putting them on the floor next to the bed.

He looked thoughtfully at her pants. They were kind of tight: she'd probably sleep much more comfortably without them. He wavered for a moment, wondering if he should…

What the heck. She needed to sleep; she'd be uncomfortable enough with the hangover she was going to have in the morning. Besides, she would be hard-pressed to remember anything at all tomorrow, let alone know she hadn't removed them herself.

He unbuttoned her pants and lifted her hips to slide them off, contemplating wryly that this wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind when he'd fantasized about undressing Elena.

His eyes flitted over her scantily clad form for a moment, and he smiled in spite of himself. She had obviously not dressed with seduction in mind, because she wore a set of panties that didn't exactly match her purple bra: they were soft shell pink and decorated with a little black bow in front. Genuine good-girl underwear.

He went to the closet and opened it, looking for one of Stefan's shirts for her to wear. Upon seeing the mess at the bottom of the closet, he frowned. Stefan wasn't usually such a slob. He couldn't help but wonder what had happened. His eyes scanned the room, noticing the missing diary, just like Elena had. Where was Stefan?

Damon pulled out one of Stefan's shirts and walked back towards the bed. Elena was sleeping by now, or at least, so he thought, because as soon as he carefully inserted her arm in one of the shirt's sleeves, she stirred, murmuring drowsily, "Damon?"

Trying to disturb her as little as possible, he lifted her slightly to slip the shirt underneath her, but her hands suddenly came up to clasp his face, and she pulled it down to hers. Her eyes were still closed, but she infallibly located his mouth with hers.

Damon couldn't exactly pull back from her sweet kiss since he was a tad unbalanced leaning over the bed. Not that he minded kissing her, he thought, but if she kept up like this, he was going to end up ravishing her in his brother's bed!

The thought of Stefan sobered him quicker than a cold shower ever could have, and he tried to pry her hands away from his face. She growled in frustration and he gently stroked her hair to calm her down. A minute later she was out like a candle. He heard her breathing deepen in sleep and suppressed a smile when she actually let out a tiny snore…

He closed just a few of the shirt's buttons, deeming that enough to at least conserve her modesty to some extent. It was still warm enough for her to not need a blanket, so he left her like that, bending over to press a last kiss on her forehead. She sighed contentedly and turned onto her side, curling up like a baby. If only he had the right to crawl in next to her...

He walked around the bed to collect the empty bottle and take it downstairs. It was probably wise to remove any evidence of her binge. As he grabbed the bottle, he saw that there was something lying underneath it. It was a crackled piece of paper. He picked it up with a frown...

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><p><strong>AN: And? And? Was it good for you too? You know I thrive on your reviews, right? Or send me a message on twitter val_victrix ;)<strong>


	27. Hair of the Dog

**AN: Sorry for being so terribly late in replying to all those wonderful reviews on Sugar and Spice, but I'm really busy at the moment… It's all I can do to keep ahead with writing Shadowdancing… But your amazing reviews keep me going! Just so you know ;) **

**Also lots of well-deserved hugs to Shadowfaxangel, my amazing beta, and also to Kjewls, who keeps this long TVD-less summer bearable with her wonderful reviews to my story and of course with her snarky recaps of True Blood, not to mention some awesome TVD-goodness... You mentioned something about shirtless Damon, Julie? ;)**

**And so Elena wakes up the next morning. Another LONG chapter for you guys ;) Enjoy!**

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><p>Elena slowly fought her way back to consciousness. Her mouth felt as if she'd swallowed something furry and her head was pounding like there was an entire battery of drums at work inside. She forced her eyes open to slits, wondering what on earth she was doing here? And where was <em>here<em> anyway?

By the shadowy shapes around her, she deduced she was … in Stefan's room? What was she doing in Stefan's room? And where was Stefan?

Her hand moved to feel for the other pillow… it was still fluffy and didn't bear a dent, meaning Stefan hadn't been sleeping there. She opened her eyes a bit more and squinted at the alarm clock. It was morning? But it was still so very dark.

She pushed herself up on her arms, wincing at the bass drums hammering away in her head. She noticed the room wasn't totally cloaked in darkness; it was just that the curtains had been meticulously closed to not let in a single ray of sunshine, for which she was truly grateful at the moment!

When she located a bottle of water on the side table, she groaned in relief, and pulled the bottle towards her. Without bothering with the glass next to it, she unscrewed the bottle and glugged the blessedly cool water in big gulps, almost choking in her haste.

Then her eyes fell on a small bottle of Advil, and she sent up a prayer of heartfelt gratitude for whoever had left the painkillers there. She swallowed two and leaned her head back against the headboard, waiting for the pills take effect. She slowly started to feel somewhat more human.

Then she frowned. The headache felt like the hangover of the century. What had she been doing to get a headache like that?

Her eyes fully open now, she scanned the room, and her eyes fell on a crumpled bit of paper that was lying on the bed next to her. Stefan's letter! Stefan was gone!

As if the name had triggered the latch, the floodgates in her mind opened, spewing forth memories. Dancing with Damon. _Kissing_ Damon. Rushing out to find the letter at home. Rushing back to find Stefan gone already. Finding Damon's liquor supply and digging in.

Then everything got slightly blurry, as if she was looking at it through a veil (well, multiple alcohol-induced veils to be honest). There were flashes of things, but she couldn't be sure they were real or just a dream. Dancing with Damon (_again_?). Kissing Damon (_again_?). Taking her clothes off?

The water bottle tilted precariously, nearly spilling its contents onto the bed. She righted it just in time, and looked down at herself, her eyes widening in shock when she noticed she was wearing one of Stefan's shirts.

With a trembling hand she lifted the shirt to sneak a peek inside and was relieved to at least find her underwear where it should be… but why didn't she _remember_ any of it? What had she done?

After her initial panic attack, she calmed down a little. She assumed that she _probably_ hadn't slept with Damon, because she'd _probably_ still be in _his_ bed, not in Stefan's - _probably_ being the operative word here, she thought disparagingly, because she couldn't remember anything but blurry images and sensations.

The painkillers were working their magic, and although she was still fuzzy, she finally felt capable of getting out of bed. Relief flooded her when she spotted her clothes on a nearby chair, and she put them on stiffly. Maybe she needed some hair of the dog to clear her head? _No_! No more drinking!

When she was dressed, she hesitated: should she just sneak out of the house or should she apologize to Damon for her drunken behavior? She thought she preferred to avoid a confrontation at this point. But maybe he would say something so she would know what exactly she'd said and done last night. And had Stefan actually told Damon he was leaving?

In the end, curiosity and politeness won out. She snuck out of the room, silently closing the door behind her. Then she tiptoed down the stairs to Damon's room. She might as well check whether he was there before going downstairs. Might save her a trip back up again.

When her hand touched the wood to knock, the door swung open by itself. It hadn't been closed properly, so her attempt at knocking had just pushed it open wider. The TV was on, so Damon was obviously here and he was awake. She dithered just a moment longer before cautiously stepping across the threshold.

Only to immediately halt in her tracks like a deer frozen in headlights when her ears picked up the sound of water running in the bathroom. And then she made the mistake of imagining Damon as he was taking a shower in that magnificent bathroom of his.

The hot water would be plastering his dark, silky hair to his head, and his eyes would be closed while he tilted his head back, letting the water trickle down his face and run in rivulets over his broad shoulders, his lithely muscled arms, his toned chest - and still further down… At this point, she took hold of her disobedient thoughts and shook her head, purposely chasing the alluring images away.

Just for a second there, she was sorely tempted to just walk inside and join him in the steamy bathroom. God, she wasn't normally so forward! What was the matter with her? Drinking, making out with Damon (well, she was sure she'd kissed him at least), and now these wanton thoughts! It was almost as if Stefan had taken all her inhibitions away with him… or was it just that his presence had kept her inexplicable yearning for Damon in line?

She was so lost in debating with herself that she hadn't heard him turn the faucets off, causing her to jump like a frightened hare when he suddenly walked out of the bathroom. Her breath left her in a whoosh at the sight of him, dripping wet and buck-naked. Unselfconsciously, he started wrapping a fluffy white towel around his lean waist, while he said with a smirk, "I must have missed your knock… Elena? Is something the matter?"

Elena's lungs indicated that she needed to take in a breath of air or she would lose consciousness, so she gulped in much needed air and hastily turned her back on him, cheeks flaming.

Although the enticing image of wet, naked Damon was now burned on her retina, she pushed it to the back of her mind (she'd recall it and drool over it later, she consoled herself) and croaked, blindly staring at the wall "Damon. I came to…um… " What was she doing here again? Oh, right! "Apologize. Yes. I have to apologize for … um… my behavior last night."

"Apology accepted, Elena," he replied easily.

She was on the verge of turning around again when she heard a rustling sound behind her. What was he doing now? Surely he wasn't getting rid of the towel again? Was he getting dressed? With her in the room? Well, she could hardly look to make sure, could she? She squeezed her eyes shut so she wouldn't be tempted to look and almost missed what he said next, "Though I honestly don't know why you're apologizing. It's not like I minded you coming on to me."

She had to concentrate in order to answer him somewhat coherently, "Um… _what_?"

Damon's laughter sounded muffled. He was pulling something over his head. He must be wearing his pants already, no? Mmm, better not turn around yet…

He was talking again. God, all that alcohol in her system must really have muddled her mind, because focus was extremely hard to come by, Elena thought vaguely before listening again at what he was saying, "… so I hope it was as good for you as it was for me?"

Elena frowned. _Huh_? What was he talking about? She'd been so sure they hadn't… He was joking, right? Unthinkingly, she whirled around to face him. At least he was dressed now, in his trademark black jeans and a snug fitting black t-shirt. In spite of herself, she felt a twinge of disappointment.

His face was deadly serious as he took in the baffled expression on her face, and he said with a frown, "You don't remember it, do you? You told me I was the best you ever had, and now you don't even _remember_? I should have known it wouldn't be a good idea to do what we did considering the state you were in, but you insisted… tore my clothes right off me!"

Elena's eyes had grown as big as saucers, and a horrified expression flitted across her face. Damon burst out laughing, "I hope you're only looking at me like that because you don't remember a thing, Elena, and not because the thought of sleeping with me repulses you that much…?"

Elena frowned. "No… No, of course not," she whispered, and then winced at the implicated confession.

Damon flashed her a wicked smile, put a hand on his heart and drawled, "Thank _God_ for that!"

Then he sobered and suddenly looked contrite, "I'm sorry, Elena. I'm just teasing you. Nothing happened, you know."

Elena closed her eyes in relief that she hadn't forgotten something (monumental?) like that at least, only to snap them open again when he added mischievously, "Well, nothing _much_ anyway…"

Her first impulse was to fly at him and swat him for making fun of her, but she was suddenly shy of coming too close. So she just stayed where she was and settled for saying contritely, "Well, you really had me doubting my own sanity for a minute!"

Damon pursed his lips and replied, "Now I should probably tell you that your memory loss serves you right for drinking that much, but _hyp_ocrisy is one _hype_ I've never been inclined to follow."

Elena's composure had returned somewhat with the knowledge that she'd done nothing irreversible at least. She snorted, "Well, no. You're not exactly a role model where excessive alcohol consumption is concerned. I was bound to start drinking with an example like yours."

"Oh, so now it's _my_ fault you're hung-over?" Damon lifted one mocking eyebrow.

"I'll have you know that I am still an impressionable teenager, Damon. Hanging out with you Salvatores certainly has a corrupting influence on me," Elena said, her eyes suddenly clouding over when her own words brought to mind Stefan's defection, and she said almost to herself, "Well, I _did_ have a reason for going all out like that…"

And there it was: the elephant in the room had made its presence known…

Damon wondered whether he should tell Elena that he'd seen Stefan's letter or not. But before he could say anything, Elena looked at him again and said quietly, "Stefan 's gone away for a while, Damon. Did he tell you?"

Oh, well. He'd never been any good at procrastination anyway. Damon shook his head and said carefully, "No, Elena, he didn't tell me, but I know he's gone."

He hesitated just a fraction of a second before confessing, "I'm sorry, Elena. I read Stefan's letter. In my defense, I have to say I didn't know what it was. You'd left it on his bed, and I saw it by chance after carrying you upstairs…"

When he mentioned having to carry her upstairs, she blushed, reminded of the drunken advances she must have made. Shamefacedly, she mumbled, "Oh. You know why he left then."

"I know. So what are you going to do?" Damon asked. Elena was unable to meet his eyes.

She stared at nothing in particular, remembering all too well what had driven her to drink in the first place, and it was certainly not just Stefan's absconding without a word. But was she really ready to tell Damon about her …um… epiphany? Besides, it seemed so callous, so very cheap, to jump from Stefan's arms straight into Damon's. She needed to sort out her feelings once and for all without resorting to alcohol before she would do anything like that. And didn't she owe it to Stefan to talk to him first?

When the silence grew oppressive and Elena still hadn't answered him, Damon's expression turned stony. He'd figured as much. Elena wasn't ready to give up on Stefan. He sighed, and however much it pained him to say it, he told her resignedly, "If you want me to get him back for you, I will, Elena."

Elena looked up in surprise, but she was too late to catch the expression of anguish on Damon's face. He'd already schooled his features into revealing nothing of the turmoil he felt inside.

"No, thank you, Damon. He said not to look for him," She heaved a sigh and looked at him, trying to convey honesty when she said, "I just need some time to think…"

Damon shrugged and said, taking care to sound as nonchalantly as possible, "Take all the time you need, Elena. After all, if there's anything Stefan and I have, it's _time_ aplenty…"

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><p>Damon heard the front door close behind Elena and heaved a sigh. Just as he'd expected: she was gone again, probably never to come back. God, but he was angry with Stefan for taking off like he had. Well, not just taking off. No, he just <em>had<em> to leave behind a letter… A letter that would mire Elena's conscience in guilt for ages!

By writing that letter, his brother had made sure he would still have a girlfriend to come back to. Elena would feel so remorseful for everything that had happened between them, thereby chasing away Saint Stephan, that she would probably abandon the whole salsa contest so she could stay out of temptation's reach. She would feel guilty for feeling guilty, if he knew her at all.

Well, he'd be damned if he let her get away with wallowing in guilt and standing him up as a consequence, especially since he deemed her ready, or as good as ready anyway, for the salsa contest. And there was still the contest before the contest to consider, a wager with a dress at stake.

A slow smile curved his lips. He may have lost a battle, but he had by no means lost the war, and he wasn't ready to admit defeat. Not by a long shot! He picked up the phone. It was time to call in the help of an unlikely ally. Time to call Barbie.

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><p><strong>AN: Well, there it was, as promised, Elena's morning after AND wet, naked Damon. Like I told you before, the scene that looks like I just copied it from the teaser for season 3, was actually written weeks before said teaser came out… Tell me if you liked my take on it, please? Reviews make me happy, guys :D <strong>


	28. Secrets and Surprises

**AN: I keep thanking you all for your amazing reviews, but I still think it amazing that so many people like this story, so THANKS! **

**I am very sorry that this is such a short chapter, but it refused to grow any longer, and it didn't fit anywhere else. So I'm just putting it up like this ;) Hope you still like Caroline... Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Dear Diary,<em>

_It's Monday. I'm home from school because I'm suffering the aftermath of the worst hangover of my life. I'm never drinking that stuff again! _

_Saturday was only two days ago, but it feels like an eternity has passed since then. It just doesn't seem possible that everything changed so much in such a short period of time! _

_In all honesty, my head is still spinning from discovering the true state of my heart. I was even wondering if I dreamed it… or if I was hallucinating under the influence of the alcohol. __But I'm totally sober now and nothing has changed._

_Stefan is still gone. _

_I'm still in love with Damon. Hopelessly, head-over-heels in love with Damon. _

_And I haven't told him yet._

_Honestly? I've never been so scared! These feelings for Damon… How can they be so strong? I'm afraid of losing myself in him. Isn't it ironic? I'm in love with a vampire, and I'm not scared that he will lose control; I'm afraid that I will! It's too sudden and too much; I have to get a grip on this before I tell Damon how I feel._

_Besides which, I think I owe it to Stefan to talk to him first. I need to clear the rubble before building. __God. There's another reason to be scared. I'm loath to hurt Stefan. I'm afraid he's going to be devastated. Or maybe not? After all, he's pushed me into recognizing some basic truths about myself. Does he know me so much better than I know myself then? That's actually kind of frightening too!_

_So maybe this isn't going to come as such a surprise to him._

_Still, I'm going to have to tell him that I've fallen for his brother right under his nose. That's going to be hard, no matter that he may be expecting it. I never intended to hurt Stefan like that. But there's no way to tell him without hurting him._

A tear splashed down on the paper, making the ink run out. While she wiped at it ineffectively, the letters started blurring before her eyes, and she buried her head in her pillow, more tears stinging her eyes. How she wished Damon was with her now. She wanted to snuggle up to him, pull him close. She wanted to kiss him senseless.

Her eyes drifted shut and she slept.

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><p>On Tuesday morning, Elena was intentionally trying to avoid running into Caroline. So of course Caroline was the very first person she bumped into when she arrived at school.<p>

"Hey, Elena!" Caroline chirped, sounding her usual chipper self. "We missed you in class yesterday! I suppose you had better things to do?"

Elena fidgeted uncomfortably, "I had a headache. I stayed in bed all day," she replied, and that wasn't even a lie.

"Dammit," Caroline sounded slightly disappointed, and when Elena looked puzzled at Caroline for her strange reaction, she added, "It's just that me and Bonnie had a wager going. And I guess I lost: Bonnie thought you were sick."

"A wager? About me?" Elena said indignantly, "And what did _you_ figure I was doing?"

Caroline smiled sheepishly, "I figured you were having some steamy supernatural sex and didn't feel like interrupting that to attend boring history on a Monday morning… "

Elena's eyes widened, and Caroline added defensively, "Hey, you and Stefan were both conspicuously absent, so you can't blame me for thinking you two were playing kissing games, right?"

Elena evaded Caroline's eyes: there had been kissing games all right, just _not_ with Stefan...

To her great chagrin, Caroline noticed her high color and snickered, "Aha, so you did get some action this weekend!"

"Whether or not I had some 'action', as you put it, is none of your business, Caroline," Elena said tersely.

"Oh, come on now, Elena! Don't be such a spoilsport!" Caroline wasn't fazed by Elena's obvious irritation, "You're my friend. You're supposed to tell me stuff like that! Was it good?" She raised one eyebrow suggestively.

Elena felt a telling blush creep over her cheeks and said truthfully, "It was earth-shattering. Now can you please just drop it?"

Caroline pouted sulkily, but then her eyes lit up as she remembered she had something to tell Elena. She perked up and said, "Well, if we can't talk about you getting it on with Stefan, let's talk about Damon!"

Elena looked up in alarm, but luckily Caroline seemed oblivious this time; she was clearly bursting with news.

"I got a phone call from Damon…" Caroline announced, immediately getting Elena's full attention.

"Why would Damon call _you_?" Elena said in surprise.

Caroline looked slightly taken aback at Elena's strange reaction.

"Elena? Is something the matter?" Finally Caroline had caught on to Elena's discomfiture.

Elena waved her hand, trying to appear casual, "No, no, nothing. So, Damon called you, huh?"

Caroline looked suspiciously at her for a moment longer, a worried frown creasing her forehead. Then her usual ebullience popped up again, and her voice rose with her enthusiasm when she gushed, "_Yes_! And he had the most wonderful idea. Apparently he knows a great bar, and he wants us to go there with him!"

Elena looked nonplussed for a moment, "What? Damon knows a bar? I imagine he knows a lot of bars. What's so special about this one?"

Caroline huffed reproachfully, "Well, Elena, if you wouldn't keep interrupting me," Elena raised her eyebrows at this point, but Caroline ignored her and went on, "I could tell you."

Elena made a zipping motion with her hand in front of her mouth, indicating she'd keep mum.

"It's a bar where they do a salsa night once a month. They turn the whole bar into some kind of salsa café and have a salsa band playing all night. We could go there and practice! Sounds great, huh?" Caroline looked at Elena expectantly.

"Great," Elena muttered weakly.

Caroline went right on, "So, it's only this Wednesday. I'm totally in a tizzy about what I'm going to wear! I might even have to go and buy something new this afternoon!"

Elena's eyes widened, "_Wednesday_? But… that's… tomorrow?"

Caroline nodded enthusiastically, "Yup. Oh, I think it's so neat that he invited us along! We're going to have so much fun!"

Well, at least somebody will, Elena thought sourly.

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><p>When Elena came back in her room that night, there was something lying on her pillow. She approached it circumspectly, wary of things that suddenly appeared on her bed.<p>

It was a single long-stemmed rose, its color a deep ruby red, so dark as to be almost purple, its delicate leaves just slightly unfurled. She picked it up and lifted it to her nose, inhaling its subtly fragrant aroma.

Underneath it was a folded piece of paper…

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><p><strong>AN: Who knows... If I get enough incentives, I might post the next chapter sooner than Thursday ;) <strong>


	29. Leather and Lace

**AN: First of all, just for those of you who would like to revisit all those amazing Damony-moments where he is either naked and wet (definitely my favorites), dressing or undressing, half naked (in bed, with fluffy towels or pants barely hanging in there) or possibly just wearing his shirts unbuttoned… Check out all this yummy goodness on the tvrecappersanonymous' page of the awesome kjewls: it's right there beneath "Coed naked Damon Salvatore – a look at the tv vampire's best undressed moments". Take care not to drool all over your keyboards****, guys ;) You rock, Julie!**

**Wow, there's been over 500 reviews for this story so far :D ****To all of you wonderful reviewers out there: you gave me absolutely enough incentives to post this one a day sooner ;) Thank you so much! **

**And thank you once more, Shadowfaxangel: soon our mails are going to be whole books as we're not ****only going to have to discuss our very own heroes and villains, but the Vampire Diaries and True Blood as well ;) **

**Sorry for the long author's note… So, you wanted to know what Elena's letter said, didn't you? Here goes!**

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><p>When the doorbell rang, Elena was just putting the final touches on her make-up. She tilted her head to listen whether Jeremy or Jenna would open the door. When Jeremy's footsteps hammered down the stairs, she picked up the note she'd found underneath the rose (that was now in a little vase on her nightstand) on her bed the day before and scanned it perfunctorily, although she knew by heart what it said:<p>

_My fairy princess,_

_You are invited to the ball tomorrow night. I'll pick you up at eight and we will rendezvous with Barbie and Ken later. Wear your dancing shoes and dress for a night at passion's paradise._

The note was written in bold, decisive handwriting, and it wasn't signed. It was very obviously from Damon.

She critically observed her reflection in the mirror. Dancing shoes, check. Dressed for a night at passion's paradise… Check! After all, that _was_ the purpose of Stefan's letter, right? He'd gone away so she could explore her feelings for Damon, and what better place to do that than passion's paradise?

She heard Jeremy yell her name as he came pounding up the stairs, calling out as he barged into her room, "Elena! Damon's here to pick you up!"

He lowered his voice and added, "I think you'd better not tell Jenna what you're up to, sis! You know she always thinks Damon's out to get you, and by the looks of him now, she may be right!"

Elena frowned. What was that supposed to mean? But before she could ask Jeremy what he meant, he did a double take and whistled, "My God, Elena! It's not just _Damon_, is it? Dare I ask what you've got planned?"

"We're just going dancing somewhere, Jeremy!" Elena's sounded slightly annoyed at her brother's insinuation (no matter that it might be true!).

"_Just_ dancing, she says…" Jeremy raised his eyebrows and gave her an incredulous look, "The way you're dressed makes me wonder if I shouldn't do my fraternal duty by offering to come along and protect you from unwanted attention…" He looked her up and down again and shook his head in wonder.

Elena gave him a condescending pat on his arm, "It's very kind of you to offer, Jer, but I'm going there with Damon. Don't you think he's more than capable of protecting me from unwanted attention?"

"Yeah, no doubt about that," Jeremy smirked suggestively, "And I suppose you don't want any protection from _Damon's_ attentions if your choice of dress is anything to go by…"

He guffawed when she swatted him this time, before he made good his escape and disappeared into his own room.

Elena shrugged, turning to the mirror again to check her appearance one last time, and almost screamed in surprise when Damon suddenly materialized behind her. She closed her eyes for a second to calm her racing heart and grumbled under her breath, "I'll never get used to this!"

Damon didn't respond because he was too busy looking her over. Oh man, he thought, seeing she was dressed all in fiery, passionate red. She wore a red ruffled skirt that was shorter in front than in the back and a red wraparound top that was knotted under her breasts and left a good part of her flatly toned belly visible. Her hair was up in a ponytail that swayed gently and was tied with a red ribbon.

If she'd dressed like this just for him... It was enough to make his heart soar with hope that maybe not everything was lost.

Elena spun around to face him, exclaiming, "Damon!"

"Mmm," he murmured, not really paying attention since his eyes (and his mind) were still focused on Elena's provocative outfit. Then his gaze finally came up to look at her, and he lifted one eyebrow inquiringly, "Yes, Elena? Or perhaps I should call you my lady in red tonight?"

Elena ignored him and said indignantly, "What are you doing sneaking up on me in my room? Did it occur to you that I could have been… um…" She trailed off, realizing this might not be the best thought to plant in his head. Besides, he'd already seen her in her underwear anyway.

But Damon completed her sentence with a wicked gleam in his azure eyes, "That you could have been _indecent_? You didn't let that stop you a few days ago." He watched as a delightful blush spread across her cheeks, "Just so you know, I wouldn't have minded getting an eyeful of you either…"

His eyes traveled down and up again, scanning her once more, as if he couldn't get enough of looking at her. She almost felt as though he was stripping her naked just by looking at her, when he said earnestly, "You look absolutely stunning, Elena."

She forgot that she had intended to take him to task for his roving eye when she saw the frank admiration reflected in his gaze, and a warm, fuzzy feeling spread through her.

She was about to return the compliment and had in fact already opened her mouth to do so, when she took her first good look at him. Her eyes widened and she gasped, "Woah!"

His eyes crinkled at the corners in amusement when he realized what she'd only now noticed. Elena's eyes stayed glued to his lower body as she asked, "Are you actually wearing leather pants?"

He smirked at her and said in a mock-warning voice, "Hey! Do _not_ make fun of my pants!"

"I wouldn't dare," Elena answered impishly. Damon chuckled and turned around to show off his tight leather pants and the snug black shirt tucked into them. He purred with a wink, "So, do you like them?"

Elena adopted a southern belle drawl and batted her lashes melodramatically, "Why, Damon, did you wear those just to impress little old me?"

Damon chuckled and quipped, "Did it work?"

Boy, did it work! Elena thought, taking in the tight fit of the smooth, black leather encasing his muscled thighs. She wanted to touch him, to see if he felt as good as he looked, but she restrained herself and said with a cheeky grin, "It sure did. I'm very impressed… at how you got yourself into them…"

"Wouldn't you like to know that?" He just had to have the last word as he followed her out of her bedroom and into the hallway, "Well, next time I'm putting them on, you can watch. How's that?"

Elena giggled and took his arm, using him for support to get her heel-wearing self safely down the stairs and out onto the porch as quickly as possible, mindful of Jeremy's warning about Jenna.

It was a sultry evening, and still light out since the longest days of the year were almost upon them. The heady scent of the jasmine climbing the trellis by her house was strong in the balmy summer air and Elena inhaled deeply, suddenly realizing that _right at this moment_ she was genuinely happy!

In spite of recent events, she found that she was truly looking forward to this evening, and she fully intended to enjoy herself! When her eyes fell on Damon's silvery blue convertible parked out front, she impulsively turned towards him and begged, "Damon, could we have the top down, please?"

She'd always had a hankering to experience a true Audrey Hepburn moment, and this seemed the perfect opportunity… well, she lacked the little shawl to put on her head, but still…

Damon looked at her with his sexy, lopsided smile and answered, "Of course, Elena. You can have just about everything you want if you keep looking at me like that…" Elena blushed.

When the top was down, Damon gallantly held the passenger door open for her, and she got into the car without commenting. It just felt good to be a pampered a little.

As they were driving, the wind tugging at her hair, she cast him a sideways glance, surreptitiously admiring his chiseled features, pale porcelain skin, transparent aqua eyes and shock of messy, windswept dark hair. The slanting rays of the evening sun gilded the clean-cut lines of his face, and from her vantage point seemed to crown him with an unearthly halo of burnished gold, making him look like a flesh and blood angel.

Well, she corrected herself drily, it was probably more accurate to say he reminded her of Lucifer! Then she bit back a smile at her own mental image: Lucifer indeed! They'd never let him in the pearly gates anyway; he'd wreak too much havoc with his sinfully good looks.

Damon felt her eyes on him and turned his head slightly to look at her for a moment before returning his eyes to the road, "Why are you looking at me like that, Elena?"

Unthinkingly, she blurted out, "I was thinking you look like Lucifer…"

Damon looked taken aback for all of two seconds. Then he smiled teasingly, "If by that you mean to say that I'm _devilishly_ handsome, you're absolutely right, of course!"

She shook her head with an indulgent smile at his brazen impudence and said, "So, where are we going?"

"I already told you in my note. We're going to Passion's Paradise," Damon answered laconically.

As there were obviously capital letters there, Elena remarked, "It's actually called that?"

Damon laughed, "Yup, it is. Well, it's actually called _Paradiso_ _del_ _Pasion_. You didn't think I would make up a cheesy name like that?"

Elena giggled, "Does it have a gatekeeper? Because you do know that we are under age, right?"

"Yes, there's probably going to be a bouncer, but between me and Caroline, we'll manage to get you in somehow," He smirked and Elena knew he meant that they'd be using compulsion to convince the bouncers to let them in.

"Speaking of Caroline," she said, "I'm surprised you even wanted to invite her and Matt."

"You don't like it?" Damon inquired. Then one corner of his mouth quirked up in an amused smile, "Ah. Perhaps you wanted to be alone with me in paradise?"

Well, Elena thought, the way he said that sounded sinful for sure! And if she was totally honest with herself, she had to admit that she might have preferred going there just with Damon, but she hastened to reply, "That's not what I meant, Damon. I'm just surprised, is all. Last time I invited Caroline and Matt for salsa dancing, you didn't seem too happy about it!"

"I also remember I got over that fairly quickly," He retorted. Remembering Elena's blatant jealousy, he added teasingly, "In fact, it seemed like _you_ were the one who wasn't too happy with Caroline's presence."

Elena blushed, remembering her jealousy of Caroline as Damon danced with her as well. She wisely kept her mouth shut.

Damon looked at her from the corner of his eye, "I have to admit I had a reason for inviting Caroline tonight. Remember our wager? If I could get you to dance salsa well enough to satisfy even Caroline's critical judgment, I get to choose your dress for the contest."

Elena turned to him excitedly, "Do you actually think I'm good enough then? You never said so!"

Damon answered drily, "I never got the chance. Remember what I told you last Saturday?"

Elena blushed furiously: Saturday he had dared her to show him she was ready for the contest, and she had turned the tables on him, ultimately pushing him into kissing her. It seemed such a long time ago, when in reality it was only a few days!

Damon chuckled when he saw her blushing, "I see you do remember. Well, as far as I'm concerned, you've become quite a proficient salsa dancer, so I figured it was time to cash in on my wager."

As he pulled into a parking lot, he added in a singsong voice, "Be prepared to lose…"

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><p><strong>AN: So, Jeremy makes an appearance. Did you like Elena all in red, and Damon in his sexy leather pants (that we didn't get to see enough of during The Last Dance IMO!)? Make me happy and review? Please?<strong>

**Now it was either cutting this into two shorter chapters, or giving you one longer one… I decided to opt for the longer one, but this means that the next update will probably not be till Monday.**


	30. The Dragon in Paradise

**AN: This one's for you, Damon's Humanity! Happy birthday!**

**Thank you, Shadowfaxangel, for being the best beta ever! **

**To Keepsaying: you seem to have disabled PMing. Was that a subtle hint that my replies to your reviews were getting too long? ;)**

**Okay, those were the personal messages ;) and on that note, we'll get on with it… Enjoy!**

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><p>Matt and Caroline were already waiting when Damon parked the car.<p>

Elena swung her legs elegantly out of the car, and accepted Matt's extended hand with a smile. He pulled her up and looked her over thoroughly before saying appreciatively, "Hey, sexy lady! I have to say that you sure look great tonight!" Caroline frowned.

Elena returned his flirtatious smile, her eyes softening when she looked at her longtime friend, and said sincerely, "You don't look too bad yourself, sir!"

They started walking towards the entrance with Caroline and Damon trailing behind them.

"Barbie, you should take better care of your date," Damon told Caroline tersely, "You know, make sure he stays out of harms' way."

"What?" Caroline immediately scanned the parking lot for danger. When she found nothing alarming, she looked back towards Damon with a slightly dumbfounded expression, "Surely there's no danger to Matt here?"

Damon stared pointedly back at her and drawled, "Not right now, there isn't. But there will be if he keeps flirting with my date!"

Caroline's eyes widened, "Your _date_, is it?" Then she smiled teasingly, "What's with the sudden caveman-attitude, Damon?"

"Come on, Caroline!" Damon scoffed, "Don't tell me you aren't eavesdropping on their conversation as well!"

Caroline huffed, "Maybe I am, but so what?"

"Vampires are essentially primitive creatures, Barbie," Damon shrugged, "I shouldn't have to tell you that we wrote the book on possessiveness!"

"I know that, but Matt and Elena are just _friends_, Damon," Caroline sounded irritated.

Dammit, she thought, why was she even defending this, when in fact she agreed with Damon? Matt shouldn't be flirting with Elena; they were over and done with! It was just like when Matt had turned to Elena for comfort after Vicky died… It had hurt her more than she cared to admit.

"They used to be more than friends, Barbie!" Damon reminded her sharply, intruding on her thoughts.

"Okay, so they have some history between them," Caroline admitted reluctantly.

"And I'll be damned if I let them add some more to that history!" Damon muttered under his breath, staring daggers at Matt's back. At Caroline's surprised look, he told her quietly, "Watch and learn, Barbie!"

In a louder voice he said, "Can I just remind you that we share some history too? Or don't you remember the days when you were all 'girl likes boy, boy likes girl, _sex'_?"

Caroline blushed slightly, wondering how he even knew about that. If she recalled it correctly, she'd said those words to _Elena_ a long time ago.

She was startled out of her reverie when Damon sidled closer to her and casually slung an arm over her shoulders, "Back in the days when I was up for it," He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, "and you didn't even think of turning me down?"

"Please! Don't remind me. I got over you when I got over normal-people-food!" Caroline mumbled under her breath, but she didn't shrug off his arm.

Damon leaned in closer and whispered, "And frankly, that wasn't a moment too soon!" Then he raised his voice again, "But you have to admit that we had a lot of fun together! Do you remember that you especially liked it if I …"

"What are you guys talking about?" Suddenly Elena appeared at Damon's side, and Damon suppressed a satisfied smirk. It seemed like Elena had been doing her own share of eavesdropping. Could it be that she didn't like him chatting up her longtime friend any more than he liked her flirting with Matt?

He winked at Caroline, his good mood instantly restored by Elena's reaction, and said, "Oh, Caroline and I were just reminiscing about old times…"

Caroline jabbed her elbow in his ribs to keep him from saying more on the subject, and Damon withdrew his arm from Caroline's shoulders.

Elena relaxed as soon as he did that. She had indeed been listening in to their conversation while talking to Matt. Anxious to change the subject, she eyed the people waiting in a line outside, hoping to be allowed in, and said, "Well, Mr. Salvatore, I think it's time to demonstrate your powers of persuasion!"

"Sure thing, Miss Gilbert," Damon replied nonchalantly, and looked towards the entrance. When he saw who was carding the people waiting to get in, one corner of his mouth quirked up in a slow smile.

"Mmm, compulsion might not be the way to go here…" He murmured, and Elena and Caroline looked at each other with identical puzzled looks.

Elena followed his gaze to see what he was staring at and saw he was observing a young woman standing by the rope closing off the entrance to the club.

She was dressed… well, that might not be the appropriate word, Elena simmered silently. She had poured herself into some kind of black leather corset that displayed her ample …um … assets to best advantage. Leather hot pants and fishnet stockings showcased endless legs and gem-studded pumps completed the outfit. A wealth of wavy, luxuriously thick hair the color of copper spilled loosely over her shoulders and down her back, reaching all the way to her bottom. Her face bore an expression of bored ennui as she had everybody show their identification before allowing them in.

"Wait here while I handle this," Damon said breezily, "Won't be a minute."

He sauntered off, past the line of waiting people, most of whom followed his progress with curious envy. He stepped across the red rope as if he had every right to do so, and Elena watched as the redhead looked up with an irritated frown, clearly intending to tell him off.

But as soon as her eyes lit on him, her mouth snapped shut, and she sized him up appraisingly, the frown disappearing. Damon started talking to her, and although the jaded look slipped off her face fairly quickly, she still shook her head.

Elena wasn't close enough to hear what was being said, but she could tell Caroline was definitely listening. "It's not working; she's so not gonna let us in," Caroline told Elena quietly, perverse pleasure ringing in her voice at Damon's anticipated failure, "He's going to have to compel her anyway."

They both observed Damon leaning over to whisper something in the girl's ear. Caroline's frown told Elena that she hadn't been able to hear what he'd said, but the redhead's eyes widened and she suddenly gazed up at him with an inviting smile that made her look very pretty. Then she nodded.

Damon turned around and beckoned them closer. As Caroline, Matt and Elena stepped over the red rope, the girl eyed them a little disdainfully, but she let them in without asking for ID.

When Damon made to follow them, she stopped him with a hand on his chest and told him in a throaty voice, "Enjoy yourself, cutie pie. Should you be bored, I'm off at eleven… Just ask for Candy!"

"Why, thank you, _Candy_. I'll be sure to remember that," Damon said in what Elena had dubbed his bedroom-voice, because it sounded all silky and seductive.

It made Elena bristle, and she hardly waited for them to be out of earshot to snap at him, "Did you have to do that?"

"Do what exactly?" Damon looked at her curiously, and when her eyes slid to Candy-the-carroty haired-corset-girl, his brow cleared. "You wanted to get in, didn't you? So I got you in. You even told me to use my powers of persuasion!"

"You know that's not what I meant. You could have just compelled her to let us in," Elena replied sulkily.

Damon burst out laughing, "Well, well, well! Who'd have thought you of all people would be advocating the use of compulsion on innocent humans," He smirked, "Although maybe innocent isn't exactly accurate in this case."

Elena scowled at him, and they walked inside. The interior of the club was quite dark, but Elena saw a bar along the wall on the one side, and scattered tables and chairs on the other. A big space in the middle was cleared for dancing.

Damon turned to her with an appealing look and extended his hand to her, "If I promise not to do it again, will you dance with me?" Oh God, Elena thought. Puppy dog eyes. It was absolutely no use trying to resist him…

Still, she hesitated a fraction of a second. This was the first time she was actually going to dance with him since discovering her feelings for him, and the thought made her nervous. Somehow it felt more significant now.

She looked at his extended hand and gingerly placed hers in it. A tingle of electricity raced up her arm from where their fingers touched and her eyes flew up to his, startled. For a moment the bar and its patrons faded away, every sound dimming. Her world shrunk to his luminous cerulean eyes steadily gazing into hers. They were on an island of quiet, just the two of them...

The noise and the people rushed back suddenly as Caroline jostled them on her way to the dance floor with Matt in tow. Elena blinked, uncertain what had just happened. Then Damon gave a little tug at her hand, pulling her along towards an empty spot on the dance floor.

The band was playing an up-tempo salsa song, and the dance floor was already crowded with couples dancing energetically to the rhythmic beat of the Latino music. When Damon pulled Elena's body closer to avoid bumping into too many others, Elena stiffened a little.

When they started dancing, she couldn't immediately find their normal, intuitive synchronization and she kept trying to avoid his eyes: it was as if being aware of her feelings for him had made her too sensitive to his every touch, unbalancing her and breaking her concentration. She quivered, all too aware of Damon's hand in the small of her back; all too aware he was touching her bare skin.

She had the impression of being closed in by the other dancing couples; she was uncertain about her moves; she didn't feel the rhythm as she should. When she took a wrong turn again, Damon's eyebrows climbed higher on his forehead, and he said, "What's wrong, Elena? This isn't like you at all: you aren't normally so unresponsive."

Her eyes flickered up to his, and she fibbed, desperate for an excuse to cover her bungling of the well-known salsa moves, "I don't know. I'm nervous, I guess. It's my first dance in public!"

Damon frowned, looking puzzled until he remembered how their last dance had ended.

He stopped dancing, and raised her face up to his with two elegant fingers under her chin, searching her countenance for clues and finding averted eyes and a telltale blush, "Elena. There's no need to be nervous: you look gorgeous and you are a wonderful dancer. Just forget about everything else tonight: we're just going to have some uncomplicated fun, no strings attached. I'll be the perfect gentleman, I promise. Now just relax, look into my eyes and let yourself feel the music!"

Elena took a deep breath and looked up at him, forcing herself to relax and her mind to stop buzzing. He placed his hand low on her back and resumed dancing, his eyes holding hers captive.

And just like that, the magic was back again: the breathtaking, wonderful harmony of their bodies moving in sync to the vivid salsa rhythm. The dancers crowding around her didn't bother Elena any longer and her body responded to his guidance as if he was a master musician and she was his favorite instrument...

_To be continued..._

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><p><strong>AN: So, jealous Damon, jealous Elena, and more dancing! You like? Make me happy and review, ladies and gentlemen (yes, I do say that on purpose)?<strong>

**If you've been wondering about the title of this chapter: it's based upon a quote by A.R. Orage (I honestly don't know the guy, but if you want, you can find him on Wikipedia), that goes like this: "Jealousy is the dragon in paradise; the hell of heaven; and the most bitter of the emotions because associated with the sweetest". I thought that was kind of fitting here.**


	31. High Stakes

**AN: I had slightly less reviews on last chapter, so I hope that doesn't mean you don't like it anymore :( Still, thank you so very much to those people who faithfully review each chapter. Honestly, if it weren't for you guys, this story wouldn't be out here anymore! You're definitely the ones who keep me writing!**

**I'm also experiencing some trouble following up on the visit to Passion's paradise and I hope my muse will come back to me before long, but don't worry for now, since there are three more chapters already written :)**

**Anyway, on to High Stakes! Enjoy!**

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><p>They say that time flies when you're having fun, and that certainly proved true. Once Elena had vanquished her awkwardness and uncertainty, she enjoyed herself immensely. Damon guided her through combinations of known steps and turns they hadn't yet tried, and Elena had no trouble following his lead now. She even tried some variations herself, to Damon's obvious amusement.<p>

Time was immaterial as they moved across the dance floor in perfect harmony, dancing without reserve, uninhibitedly sexy and completely attuned to each other, unaware of the other dancers casting them admiring and sometimes envious looks.

All too soon the band had finished their last song before taking a break, and Elena looked at Damon, and remarked with an edge of grudging admiration in her voice, "I have to admit that you are really very good at this!"

"I know," Damon replied smugly. He'd never been in the habit of practicing too much false modesty; why begin now?

But Elena lifted a mock-censorious eyebrow, "Cocky much?"

Damon looked down at her with a mischievous grin and said, "Very much!" Then he lowered his head to murmur in her ear, "But I think you know that I have every right to be…"

Elena's cheeks went pink as his words conjured up the arousing mental image of him walking out of the shower two days earlier, providing her with a heart stopping eyeful of Damon in all his naked and dripping wet glory. She shivered when a flash of desire raced through her, turning her legs wobbly and making her stumble.

Damon responded by casually slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him as they made their way to the bar. Elena didn't object; in fact, she leaned in closer, deliberately intruding in his personal space. It made him smile slightly, because he hadn't been as sure about her reaction as he'd made out to be. But it also caused Caroline, who was observing them from her vantage point on a bar stool, to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

Caroline had been keeping a barstool for Elena as well, and Damon lifted her onto it without asking, his fingers lingering marginally too long on her waist. Elena thanked him with a tiny smile, and he leaned against her barstool, one arm behind her back as if she needed the support. Elena didn't say anything about that either, and Caroline frowned, unable to shake the impression that Damon and Elena were undeniably emitting coupley-vibes.

As soon as Damon and Elena joined them, Matt excused himself to visit the men's room. Damon waited for Caroline to hand Elena a much-needed drink before raising his voice slightly to make sure he could be heard over the music, "So, Caroline, as to why we are undertaking this school excursion…"

"I should have known there would be a reason apart from just having fun!" Caroline replied sounding slightly peeved.

"Well, duh. Big, bad vampire here! Have you ever known me to do things out of the goodness of my unbeating heart?" Damon drawled sarcastically.

When Caroline opened her mouth to reply, he held up a hand to stall her and said, "That was a rhetorical question, Caroline!"

Caroline lifted an eyebrow and replied nonetheless, "You helped me save my mother."

Damon lifted his eyebrows and said wryly, "Barbie, what part of 'rhetorical question' did you _not_ understand? Answering it deprives the whole thing of its meaning!"

When Caroline smirked, he bared his blunt teeth menacingly and taunted, "Babysitting the kindergarten is ruining my reputation as it is! Don't add insult to injury by implying that I'm as harmless as a fluffy white bunny! It makes my teeth itch."

Caroline quipped, "But Damon, fluffy white bunnies are _so_ cute! It would guarantee you loads of female attention; all the girls will want to cuddle you. Wouldn't we, Elena?"

Damon looked down at Elena and teased, "How about it, Elena? Want to cuddle me?"

Elena retorted, "Fluffy white bunnies don't do a thing for me, Damon," She raised her eyes to his and added in a teasing voice, "Big, bad vampires on the other hand…" Their eyes met and locked.

The intense way they were gazing at each other made Caroline wiggle on her stool uncomfortably: something was definitely happening here. She cleared her throat and said in a joking tone, "Now that we've established that Elena is a vampire junkie, can we get to the reason why we're here?"

Elena looked away from Damon first, her cheeks becomingly rosy. But it was Damon who picked up the thread of the conversation again, "Right. We're here because Elena and I have a wager going, and-"

Caroline perked up again, and interrupted him, making Damon blow out an aggravated breath, "Ooh, another wager! Elena, you sly thing! From the way you gave me an earful yesterday, I thought you disapproved so strongly!" She looked at Elena with a wicked gleam in her eye.

When Damon looked askance at Caroline, she bent over to explain, as if telling a juicy bit of gossip, "See, Bonnie and I had this wager going about Elena's … um… activities…"

Caroline made that sound positively dirty, prompting Elena to intervene with a warning look at her friend, "I'm sure nobody's interested in that, Caroline!"

Damon's mouth lifted at one corner, and he drawled, "Oh, I'm interested alright. What activities were those?" If possible, the way Damon said it, infused it with even more naughty connotations, and Elena kicked Caroline to keep her from answering.

Caroline jumped and exclaimed, "_Ouch_! Elena! What did you do that for? It's not like Damon isn't aware of what you and Stefan get up to, right?"

Elena blushed and evaded Damon's eyes by looking crossly at Caroline, who pouted, "Well, it's your own fault for telling me you got some _good_ action, and then refuse to share the smut! When I tell you everything!"

Matt came back just in time to hear Caroline's last remark and his face lost a shade of color.

Elena had had enough. She slid off the barstool and extended a hand to Matt, "Will you dance with me, Matt? We can leave these two heartless creatures to their own devices!"

Matt smiled, and gratefully accepted Elena's invitation. They took themselves off to the dance floor without looking back.

"When is Elena supposed to have indulged in these X-rated activities?" Damon asked absently, a furrow between his eyebrows as he watched Elena walking towards the dance floor on Matt's arm.

"Since she was sick on Monday, it must have been last weekend," Caroline answered blithely.

"Last _weekend_? But Stefan wasn't…" Damon snapped his mouth shut as the pieces clicked together, and he murmured with a smile, "Oh, I see…"

So Elena had admitted to getting some good action last weekend, had she? That was certainly gratifying to hear, since Damon was absolutely certain that it couldn't have been Stefan she'd been getting it with…

"Oh, you see, do you? Well, I _don't_ see, since nobody ever tells me anything," Caroline heaved a frustrated sigh.

"Maybe that's because you hardly allow anyone to get a word in edgewise?" Damon quipped with a mocking smirk, "I was trying to tell you something, but you just keep interrupting me."

"Oh, yes, the wager! What's it about then?" Caroline wasn't deterred by Damon's sarcasm.

And so Damon explained the wager to Caroline. Caroline was quick to agree, although from what she'd seen so far, she suspected she already knew the inevitable outcome. Elena wouldn't have to worry about choosing her own dress.

Just as soon as she'd agreed, Damon turned his back on her and started walking away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Caroline called after him.

Damon half-turned and said over his shoulder, "What does it look like? I'm going to dance with Elena. I've had enough of watching Ken deliberately put his hands in all the wrong places!"

Elena's eyes widened when Damon suddenly appeared next to them and tapped Matt's shoulder. Matt lost track of the steps and stopped dancing haltingly.

Damon said smoothly, "Scram, playboy! I'm cutting in here!" To Elena he added with a smile, "Miss Gilbert. This is our song, I believe?"

Matt was so surprised he let Damon slip into his place without saying a word. Then he shrugged and returned to Caroline, avoiding Elena's apologetic look.

"What do you mean, this is our song? Damon, we don't have a song!" Elena exclaimed, her eyes flashing for a moment at his rude way of shouldering Matt aside.

Still, she fell into step with his direction quite fluidly, marveling once more at how effortless he guided her, especially after struggling through some of the turns with Matt.

"Oh, Elena! Every song is our song as long as I get to dance with you!" Damon murmured. "And now you'll have to give your best performance, since Caroline is watching us and I don't intend to lose that wager!"

Before she could say anything in return, he took her hand and started twirling her, making her laugh in genuine delight.

The enthusiasm and passion of the people dancing around them seemed to saturate the air with living energy, and Elena absorbed its stimulating power, making her feel as though she could dance this way all through the night without ever tiring.

Her eyes were glowing with giddy excitement as she responded to Damon with a new kind of awareness, enhanced by her realization of being in love with him. She was high on the joy of dancing with him, drunk on his mere presence, blissful because he was touching her and she was touching him…

Damon was all too conscious of Elena's intense fixation on him: his vampiric senses detected it almost like an electrical current crackling between their bodies, raising every hair on his body in reaction.

He wondered why the attraction seemed suddenly so very much stronger than it had been. He'd always been aware of the chemistry, but now… It was all he could do to keep the vampire in him from surfacing and claiming her for his own.

He had no choice but to sublimate the instinct by channeling it into something else. his best option right now was sexual desire, and he directed it all at Elena. He adjusted his way of dancing slightly, his hands lingering longer on her bare skin than before. Somehow he succeeded in turning every single touch into a caress that made Elena's body hum with tension until she felt like one of those wind-up toys, ready to uncoil at the lightest touch.

The band decided to lend a hand by playing a slower Merengue song, and Damon didn't hesitate in pulling Elena as close as possible, closing his eyes for a moment when the friction of her body against his relieved some of the pressure. His hands took advantage of the fact that there was a big expanse of uncovered skin between her skirt and her top, and his fingers drew hypnotizing lines and circles on her warm flesh.

His surreptitious caresses heated up her exterior and his azure eyes burned down into hers with an intensity that reminded Elena of the heart of a flame, and made her feel just as hot inside…

_To be continued…_

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><p><strong>AN: So, please make my day (or evening) and review please!<strong>


	32. Untimely Interruptions

**AN: SURPRISE! Update one day early ;) I do have a very good reason though: I'm leaving on holiday for a week on Thursday, so I will not be able to make the Thursday and Monday next updates as I will be totally and utterly without any internet access. So I will update today (Sunday) and hopefully be able to get you guys another chapter on Wednesday to tide you over until next week. I hope you will still be with me when I get back! **

**So, big hugs to everybody who's been sending me reviews on the previous chapter. I got 35, which is a personal best! Yay! You've really made me very happy and boosted my spirits enormously, though I regret to say that musey-girl is still AWOL. My fantastic beta suggested bribing the girl with Damon... I guess she's a woman, so that might work ;) **

**Anyway... we were in the middle of something, I think... Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Previously on Shadowdancing...<em>

Damon adjusted his way of dancing slightly, his hands lingering longer on her bare skin than before. Somehow he succeeded in turning every single touch into a caress that made Elena's body hum with tension until she felt like one of those wind-up toys, ready to uncoil at the lightest touch.

The band decided to lend a hand by playing a slower Merengue song, and Damon didn't hesitate in pulling Elena as close as possible, closing his eyes for a moment when the friction of her body against his relieved some of the pressure. His hands took advantage of the fact that there was a big expanse of uncovered skin between her skirt and her top, and his fingers drew hypnotizing lines and circles on her warm flesh.

His surreptitious caresses heated up her exterior and his azure eyes burned down into hers with an intensity that reminded Elena of the heart of a flame, and made her feel just as hot inside…

She was burning up, her insides having turned to jelly under Damon's sensual assault. If not for Damon holding her up, she would have melted into a puddle on the floor by now.

They were both so completely engrossed in each other that they didn't notice Caroline and Matt dancing right next to them. Caroline had been observing Damon and Elena for a while, unsure as to what exactly she was seeing.

Last time she'd seen them dance at the boarding house, Elena had seemed lost to the world too, but now… Both of them looked as if they were dancing in their own private bubble, utterly lost in a magical world all of their own making.

What should she do? Did Elena want her to interfere? Or not? She hadn't seemed too happy about Caroline's timely intervention last time. But what about Stefan? Caroline decided to err on the side of caution and whispered to Matt that she was going to cut in, and he'd have to dance with Elena while she danced with Damon.

She tapped Elena's shoulder and said chirpily, "Hey, guys, how about we change partners for a while?"

Elena dazedly let go of Damon, and Matt quickly stepped in.

Elena shook her head, the spell of dancing with Damon only slowly dissipating. She looked at Matt apologetically and said, "Would you mind sitting this one out, Matt? I feel a bit flushed with the heat in here. I think I'd like to get something to drink," Matt nodded in agreement and took Elena off to the bar.

Damon wasn't sure what had just happened, but he knew he was far from happy. On top of that, he was having trouble reining in his inner vampire, the one that had woken with their dancing and that wanted to go after Elena and keep her as close to him as possible. His internal struggle for control made him snap at Caroline in a harsh voice, "Blondie, what do you think you're doing?"

Caroline halted abruptly right in front of him and bit right back, "No, Damon, what do _you_ think you're doing?"

Damon cast her a dark look and snarled, "I asked you first!"

Caroline rolled her eyes, and blurted out, "What are we, twelve?" Then she answered anyway, "I'm just trying to protect Elena, Damon. She doesn't know what she's getting herself into by dancing with you."

Damon lifted one eyebrow, and replied glibly, "Why would she need any protection from me, Barbie? After all, we were only dancing!"

"You call that dancing? My goodness, no wonder you have Elena all…" Caroline swallowed the rest of her words, but muttered under her breath, "I did warn her about this, but would she listen?"

"I have Elena all… _what_, Caroline?" Damon asked. "Not that it is actually any of your business what Elena and I get up to, is it?"

Caroline shook her head, "It _so_ is my business! Elena's my friend. I warned her about you, but she just wouldn't believe she was landing herself in hot water. She should have known better though! Look where it got me!"

Damon shook his head in exasperation. It was no use trying to convince anyone of his good intentions. Apparently the only person who really believed he wasn't a black hearted villain was Elena herself… so was it any wonder he'd fallen for her as hard as he had?

"It got you to not be dead when otherwise you would have been," He remarked drily.

Caroline shook her head, "We both know that's not true, is it? You didn't do that for me. You only did it for Elena."

Damon raised his eyebrows, "Thank you for pointing that out, Caroline. I did it for _Elena_. Which proves my point that I don't mean to cause her any pain!"

Caroline took hold of his arms in a last effort to get through to him, "You don't mean to cause her pain, Damon. But you will nevertheless. Because someday soon I'm afraid you'll get bored and she'll get hurt…"

Damon was already shaking his head, "That's where you're wrong, Barbie. I don't do bored where Elena is concerned. You on the other hand, are boring me to tears right now."

He took a step back, extricating himself expediently from her grasp and added, "Which is why I'm sure you'll excuse me for removing my unwanted presence from your company right now."

He knew he was being harsh, which was probably uncalled for considering Caroline was only trying to look out for Elena, but he was seething at her for interfering and utterly s_ick_ of always being painted as the bad guy. He turned on his heel and stomped outside, leaving Caroline to stare at his retreating back in confusion. Then she shrugged and went looking for Matt and Elena.

When Caroline walked up to Matt and Elena at the bar alone, Elena looked first puzzled by Damon's absence, and then alarmed. "Where's Damon, Caroline? Is he dancing with someone else?"

"He can go dance with the devil, for all I care!" Caroline was miffed, "The High and Mighty Mr. Salvatore took himself off, Elena, and good riddance too!"

Elena looked baffled at Caroline's uncharacteristic vehemence. Then she asked, "What did you say to him, Care?" She was now standing on tiptoe, her eyes scanning the people on the dance floor and at the randomly scattered tables against the walls. There was no sign of Damon's messy dark hair or his pale complexion anywhere. She looked at Caroline again, awaiting her answer with trepidation.

Caroline dropped down onto the barstool and pouted, "Yeah, go ahead and worry about the conceited prick instead of supporting your lifelong friend. I'm sure he's only sulking somewhere because I gave him a piece of my mind."

Elena narrowed her eyes and repeated, "What did you say, Caroline?"

Caroline huffed and said, "Well, no need to get all snippy with me. I was just trying to be a good friend to you, Elena, but I must say that all these mixed signals from you have me totally confused! You know that Damon is going to hurt you, right? And-"

Before Caroline had uttered her last word, Elena had stopped listening and was already on her way out, pushing past the line of people still cueing to get in. She dimly noticed that the girl who had been there earlier was no longer at the door; there was now a burly guy who hardly paid her any attention.

She walked further from the entrance, in the direction of the parking lot, looking around anxiously for Damon.

It was now fully dark outside. Pretty soon she felt as if she were chasing shadows: her human eyes were ill adapted to search the badly illuminated parking lot, where only sparse streetlights cast a feeble yellow glow over the assorted parked cars.

Still, she kept walking and scanning the parking lot. She had almost reached Damon's car when she heard something. It sounded like a woman's breathy moan…

She retraced her steps until she noticed a dark passage in between the club and another building. It was too obscure for her to make out what was happening there, and she squinted to see through the darkness.

The moan came again and now that her eyes had adjusted slightly to the dark, Elena noticed two dark shapes melting together a little ways in the alley. The flickering neon light over a billboard across the street flashed erratically on and off, faintly illuminating a scene that she'd rather not have witnessed.

A girl was leaning against the uneven brick wall, while the dark shape of a man bent over her, as if to whisper in her ear. Somehow Elena just knew they were not just looking for some privacy to steal a few kisses and cuddles.

The headlights of a car leaving the parking lot passed over the couple in the alleyway for a few brief seconds, but it was enough for Elena to recognize a wealth of russet hair, reaching all the way to the girls' bottom. It was the girl who'd been standing at the door earlier, the one with the inappropriately sweet name of Candy…

Elena couldn't see the man very well, because he had his back to her, but she could distinguish enough to see that he had darkish, messy hair and wore a dark shirt and tight leather pants that were molded around his butt like a second skin.

All of a sudden she felt queasy and lightheaded, a mantra playing over and over in her head at the rhythm of her frantically beating heart: he wouldn't do that; he wouldn't do that; …

But still Elena watched, at the same time mesmerized and horrified, as Candy's head tilted to the side to expose her throat, and the man pushed her up against the wall, his face nuzzling her neck, to the increasingly insistent moans of the girl. Elena didn't get the impression they were moans of pain though.

She could feel her heart pounding with panic and taste bile rising in her throat. Clapping her hands over her ears to block the sound of the moans, she recoiled, backing away in the direction of the parking lot…

_To be continued…_

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><p><strong>AN: I hope Caroline hasn't annoyed you guys too much. So, what do you think? I know… a cliffy (I hadn't done that in way too long LOL)! You know how reviews make me very happy, guys ;)<strong>


	33. The Sting of Pointy Teeth

**AN: Thank you for all the amazing reviews ;) Some reviews and comments are really amazing *does happy dance* **

**And so, gazing in Damon's blue eyes seems to have convinced my muse to return, or maybe he just compelled her... I don't know. At the moment, she's back, and I hope she's going to stay till the very end... Also thank you for the support! Thank you too, Shadowfaxangel. You rock! **

**That being said, I have to admit that what happened at the end of the previous chapter was as big a surprise to me as it seems to have been for you guys! I hope you'll like what comes next... Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Previously on Shadowdancing:<em>

But still Elena watched, at the same time mesmerized and horrified, as Candy's head slanted to expose her throat, and the man pushed her up against the wall, his face nuzzling her neck, to the increasingly insistent moans of the girl. Elena didn't get the impression they were moans of pain though.

She clapped her hands over her ears to block the sound of the moans and recoiled, backing away in the direction of the parking lot…

… until she bumped into something solid. Strong arms wrapped around her torso from behind, like bands of steel, and she opened her mouth to take a deep breath, about to let out a bloodcurdling scream when a hand clamped over her mouth to silence her, and Damon's soft voice caressed her ear, "I can't leave you alone for a minute, can I? What are you doing outside?"

"_Damon_! You scared me!" Elena exhaled in relief when she recognized his familiar voice, and she sagged against him weakly, allowing Damon to wrap his arms around her from behind.

Damon hugged her against him, murmuring, "I'm sorry for startling you, sweetheart! But when I couldn't find you… Especially since I discovered there's another one of my kind hanging around the premises!" There were no words to describe the panic he'd felt when Caroline told him Elena had run off alone. "But I noticed he'd already found a willing donor…"

"I know. I saw it too. For a minute there I thought-" Elena began, but then she snapped her mouth shut: that was probably not the most diplomatic thing to say to him. And the truth was that she just hadn't stopped to think, because deep down she'd already known it hadn't been Damon who was… um… eating Candy.

Damon frowned when she swallowed her words, and he asked, sounding slightly suspicious, "You thought what?" He paused, "You didn't honestly think that was me, did you?"

Elena's guilty silence was answer enough, and Damon let go of her, turning his back on her to lean a hand against his car, furious.

How could Elena even think he'd do that? Especially when he was here with _her_? It was true that Caroline's words had upset him, but while that would have made the old Damon go hunting for the nearest convenient artery, he was proud that he'd gotten over that.

Elena answered his unspoken question anyway, "I'm so very sorry, Damon! I knew you wouldn't… It's just that you were flirting with her earlier and… and… I thought you might like her… and I just _know_ that Caroline upset you and-" She took a step closer to him and hesitantly extended a hand to softly, apologetically touch his back.

As soon as her hand touched his shirt, he whirled around again, causing Elena to press herself flat against the side of his car in surprise, breath catching in her throat.

Damon took a step forward and braced his hands against the car, one hand on each side of her body. But he didn't stop moving: in the same fluid motion, he pushed his own body flush against hers, making her gasp at the unexpected intimacy of the contact.

Moonlight played over his features, silvering his dark hair and emphasizing the bold lines and hollows of his face. His eyes looked stormy and his mouth was compressed in a thin line, but Elena still wasn't afraid. She let her body relax into his in obvious submission and leaned her head back so she could look up at him.

Damon felt her instant surrender to him and growled, "You are the only one that I want, Elena. But you, I want body and soul!"

When her eyes widened, he pressed his lower body against her soft, yielding one, wanting her to feel the unmistakable effect she had on him, "Just _feel_ what you're doing to me, Elena. You. Nobody else!" His voice sounded husky and tense.

Elena closed her eyes for a moment, bone deep satisfaction washing over her at his words. In spite of what she'd promised herself about not telling him anything before talking to Stefan, she opened her eyes to look up at him intently and whispered, "You do the same to me, Damon."

Damon's eyes lit up with a flash at her words, and his mouth descended to claim hers with just as much irrepressible intensity as a force of nature, sweeping her along in a tidal wave of sweet longing. Elena's mouth opened but her gasp was lost in his mouth, silenced by his conquering tongue…

Her hands gripped his shirt and she almost ripped it in her urgency to pull it out of his pants… she needed to touch his bare skin, and she needed it _now_! Her hands disappeared under the soft black material and she moaned in satisfaction at the contact.

Damon's hands had come away from the car, one hand tangling in her hair so he could hold her head at the best angle for deepening the kiss, the other slowly sliding down over her back to cup her bottom. He lifted her slightly to fit her better to the part of his body that didn't leave any doubt about his growing excitement.

God, he thought, how could she feel so marvelous, smell so amazing? Her passionate response made the urge to claim her for his own stronger than ever. He felt his vampire instincts beginning to stir again, refusing to take no for an answer. It was still too soon after the last time he'd had to fight the vampire down and there hadn't been any relief since. This time he lost the fight and felt his fangs beginning to descend.

He ripped his mouth away from Elena's and took a step back, panting with the exertion of keeping himself under control.

Elena's breathing was ragged as well, but when she felt Damon start to pull away from her, she grabbed his shirt, and pulled him back to her. Her hand wrapped itself around his neck and she pulled his face down to hers again, whispering against his mouth, "Don't you dare hide from me, Damon! I know what you are and I'm not afraid of it!"

Then she added with a secret smile, "I think I already told you that fluffy white bunnies just don't do it for me. I prefer my cuddly toys armed to the teeth!"

Her other hand came up to his face and she traced the darker shadows under his eyes before her finger softly touched his mouth. He couldn't help it: his upper lip peeled back intuitively, revealing the mark of the predator in the form of two gleaming, lethal looking incisors.

She touched her thumb to one of them, and pressed hard against its sharp edge, deliberately breaking her own skin. She bit her lip, flinching slightly at the sting.

Damon hissed at the overwhelming, irresistible scent of fresh blood, and he pulled back his head as far as it could go, while he growled at Elena, "Are you crazy? What do you think you're doing?"

Elena contemplated the welling drop of ruby red blood on her thumb before she said quietly, "Yes, I am definitely crazy. I'm crazy about _you_. And since I'm bleeding now anyway, you'd better not waste it."

She held out her hand to him, "Please, Damon? Won't you take it?"

Damon looked at her as if he was deciding whether she was as mad as a hatter and he'd be better off running as fast and as far as he possibly could, or if she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Everything started feeling distinctly unreal, as if he was living that fairy tale Ric had been talking about. Here was Elena, the girl of his dreams, not only telling him she had feelings for him, but freely offering him her blood as well…

He was well aware of the whole host of unresolved issues between them, but for the moment he was unable and unwilling to bring any reason to mind why he wouldn't take her up on her tempting offer.

His eyes focused on the tempting little drop of blood on her finger, and he lifted her hand to his mouth slowly. As his tongue darted out to lick the pad of her thumb, his eyes locked on hers and the expression of amazement and wonder in his almost brought her down to her knees. Then his tongue grazed her finger, lapping up the little droplet.

He would have stopped at that, but Elena pressed her thumb to his mouth, and he opened his lips, allowing her finger entrance. The presence of blood had ensured that his fangs were still down, and she nicked her thumb again, opening the little wound once more.

When the blood trickled into his mouth anew, Damon started sucking, unhurriedly drawing the blood from the tiny cut in her finger, the rough side of his tongue stroking her sensitive flesh.

Though he was still standing close to her, he wasn't really touching her. But almost like it had happened in her dream, Elena felt the sensation not just in her finger. It was as though he was pulling the essence out of her whole body, and she couldn't keep in a soft whimper.

Her knees wobbled and she sagged against the car for support, but before she could fall, Damon was there, his body propping her up, his leg sliding in between hers, just as he'd done in her dream. Elena was having a hard time distinguishing what was real from what wasn't. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she heard someone panting, only belatedly realizing it was her own labored breathing.

Damon couldn't believe the receptiveness of the girl in his arms: he knew very well that the taking of blood could be a deeply erotic experience for many people, but he was only taking a little and he was taking it from her _finger_! Still it had Elena trembling in his arms, almost as if he was truly making love to her…

Because he was so distracted by Elena's reaction, he didn't hear the approaching people until they were almost upon them. They were a small group of overexcited female partygoers, who'd clearly been having a hen party. They had just exited the club and were looking for their car, shouting at each other and laughing boisterously.

Damon stopped sucking Elena's finger and shielded her with his body, hoping they wouldn't notice them in the shadowy parking lot. It wasn't really necessary to conceal his face, since it was too dark for humans to notice anything out of the ordinary anyway.

As one of the women passed right by them, he put a hand over Elena's mouth to muffle her loud breathing, but a throaty voice commented, "Hey, hot stuff! I suggest you get a room before other people go all frustrated!" She snickered lasciviously, "Although I'd sure like to have me some of whatever it is that she's having!" And they walked on, laughing uproariously.

Damon half expected Elena to break away at that point, but she just leaned against him, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly, listening as her breathing evened out and her heartbeat gradually slowed down. Then he closed his eyes and used her steady heartbeat as an anchor to calm himself, so he could force the vampire down again.

Emotions had run high, and they both understood instinctively that now was not the best time to address the issues between them. So they just stood there, enveloped in companionable silence, and enjoyed the simple comfort of each other's presence while waiting for Caroline and Matt to find them.

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><p><strong>AN: So, what did you think? According to Shadowfaxangel, Damon was extra vampy here... Hope you liked it! Please drop me a little (or not so little ;) note!<strong>


	34. Confessing to Caroline

**AN: Well, I'm back! I promised another chapter on Thursday, and on my clock I'm only 10 minutes late for that ;) So, here is the next chapter of Shadowdancing. Thank you all for the amazingly uplifting reviews I will still be answering (I promise!), and I hope you guys are still willing to bear with me now that season 3 is almost upon us... So enjoy! **

**And to Shadowfaxangel: I promise to reply and send you a faithful holiday report ASAP :D BTW, I missed you too!**

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><p>When Caroline appeared in the parking lot a short time later, she had no trouble locating them in the dark. Damon was leaning against his car, Elena's back to his front, his arms loosely clasped around her. Elena was stargazing cheerfully, her head tilted back to appreciate the cloudless, starry summer sky, thinking she had never seen so many stars shine so brightly… but maybe that was just her imagination.<p>

When Caroline walked up to them, Matt in tow, Damon said immediately, "Barbie, you're taking Elena home."

Caroline looked puzzled, but nodded nonetheless. Elena was having none of it. She broke free from his embrace and turned around to face him, protesting, "No, Damon. I want to come with you."

Damon cupped her face in his hands and said quietly, "Please, sweetheart, go with Caroline."

"What if I don't want to go with Caroline?" Elena pouted.

Damon straightened and shrugged as nonchalantly as possible, "Then you'll still go with Caroline. I really don't want to fight with you over this, but if we must…" He leaned in closer again and whispered in Elena's ear to keep Caroline from hearing it, " That's fine by me, because then afterwards, we get to kiss and make up…" He smirked.

Elena frowned. She took a step back and huffed, "Okay, fine. I'll go with Caroline." She stuck her nose in the air and turned around, trying to hide that he'd hurt her a little with his refusal to take her home himself.

Damon didn't like it either, but it was his only option at this point. He knew himself. After what had happened here in the parking lot, he wasn't getting in a car for almost an hour with just Elena for company. He had calmed down some, but he knew that the vampire was still lurking very close to the surface… The slightest thing could set him off, and he didn't trust himself around Elena right now. Oh, he wouldn't hurt her, but his promise to be a gentleman would most likely crash and burn.

He needed to fight or feed before anything else… that would take the edge off. So either he drove home alone and made for the fridge in the basement ASAP, or he found himself a willing donor at the club. Remembering the look on Elena's face when she'd though he was the one helping himself to some fresh Candy made it clear that there was in fact only one option.

Caroline and Matt had taken Caroline's car, but Matt was driving. Caroline shoved Elena unceremoniously in the back and got in after her. As soon as they drove out of the parking lot, Caroline turned to Elena and said, "Okay, _sweetheart_, spill. What's going on with you and Damon?"

Elena shook her head and waved a hand towards Matt, and Caroline rolled her eyes, "Matt, honey, you plug your ears, okay?" Matt grumbled and turned on the radio to give them some privacy.

Caroline started to turn back to Elena, only to stop mid-turn, suddenly very alert, her eyes searching the car with a frown. Her nostrils flared and she inhaled deeply before whispering to Elena, "Why do I smell blood in here? Are you hurt?"

Elena reflexively looked down at her hand, the little pinpricks from Damon's fangs on her thumb hardly visible to her human eyes. Caroline's vision was much better though: she followed Elena's downward glance and spotted them immediately, "What's that, Elena?"

Elena blushed, "It's nothing." Quickly she stuck her thumb in her mouth, at once to disguise the smell of the blood, and to keep Caroline from seeing too much.

Caroline looked at her suspiciously, but apparently decided to let it go. Not that the other subject on her agenda put Elena any more at ease, "So, are you going to tell me what's happening with you and Damon?"

Elena looked at her, and shrugged. Caroline raised an incredulous eyebrow, "Oh, come on, Elena! The way you were dancing and generally carrying on before, all that touchy-feely stuff, those lingering looks. You can't tell me nothing's going on there!"

"Me and Damon…" Elena sighed, "It's complicated."

Caroline looked at her compassionately, "It always is."

She was silent for a minute, and then continued carefully, "But let me take a wild guess and say that the complication in this case is about five ten and has green eyes."

Elena's shoulders sagged, and she whispered, "Yes. I don't want to hurt Stefan, but-"

"But you will, and it will hurt him even more if you don't come clean with him, Elena."

Elena's voice broke as she said quietly, "But how I am ever going to tell him that I've fallen in love with his brother!"

Caroline's mouth fell open, and Elena said, "Well, what did you think I was going to say?"

Caroline swallowed and said quietly, "Honestly? That you and Damon… um…"

Elena frowned, not understanding, "That we… what? Caroline, _what_?"

Caroline squirmed uncomfortably, "Well, there's this obvious chemistry between you two; everyone can see there's about a gazillion sparks flying. And you don't need to love someone to get down and dirty with him, so…"

Elena's eyes widened, and she whispered disconcertedly, "_What_? You thought I'd _slept_ with him? Caroline!" A little voice whispered in her ear that she had no right to be so self-righteous about Caroline's assumption…

"Okay, so you didn't stray from the straight and narrow. Kudos to you, Elena, seeing as it's Damon we're talking about here, but… _What_?" Caroline broke off when Elena blushed and looked down at the hands she was wringing in her lap.

When Elena didn't answer, Caroline pressed on, "So something happened. What was it, Elena?"

Elena whispered, "We kissed, Care."

Caroline shrugged impatiently, "You already told me that. Remember?"

"We kissed again," Elena whispered, barely audible, even to Caroline.

"Okay. When did all this go down, Elena?"

"This weekend… and again tonight…"

"Tonight? I've got to hand it to Damon: he's good… Wait! This weekend? Wow, your weekend was certainly action-packed; no wonder you had a headache on Monday! From touchy-feely with Stefan to kissy-kissy with Damon…"

Elena looked up in surprise, "_Stefan_? Who said anything about Stefan?"

"You mean there was no touchy-feely with Stefan?" At Elena's nod, the wheels started turning in Caroline's head, "But you told me you had some… what did you say exactly? Earth shattering action this weekend…Oh, I _see._ It was _Damon_ you were talking about! So, no sex, just earthshattering kisses?"

Elena hesitated, "Maybe a bit more than a kiss… "

"Maybe? Elena, either it was more or it wasn't!" Caroline looked at her, head at an angle.

"I don't know, Care!" Elena wailed.

"Girls, girls!" Matt interrupted, his ears burning, "If you're gonna yell, this radio is not gonna be much use! And I don't think I want to hear this conversation…"

Caroline blew out an impatient breath, but didn't desist. She only lowered her voice and repeated her question.

Elena looked down at her hands, and mumbled, "The truth is that I _really_ don't know. I…um… I was a bit drunk…" She might as well go on digging her own grave, she thought ruefully.

"Drunk?" Caroline was dumbfounded: always-in-control-Elena was _drunk_? "Why? And where was Stefan when all of this was going down?"

Elena debated with herself, but then she figured that Caroline would find out that Stefan had skipped town anyway, so she said, "Stefan is out of town."

"Well, the guy certainly has a bad sense of timing!" Caroline shook her head in disbelief, "To be leaving you all alone with Damon. Either he's plain stupid, or he's very, very confident!"

"He's neither," Elena couldn't believe what she was about to tell Caroline, "Care, this is between us, right?" Caroline nodded, and Elena went on, "He left me alone with Damon on purpose, to see how I feel about him, well, about both of them…"

"And you know this how?" Caroline wanted to know. "You're not saying he told you that to your face!"

"No, he didn't. He wrote me a letter…"

Caroline rolled her eyes, "Figures. He's not even putting up a fight, is he? So, essentially Stefan left you a free pass to get it on with his brother?"

When Elena didn't say anything, Caroline said matter-of-factly, "But you didn't take him up on that. Well, apart from a few kisses apparently, and the heat you're generating whenever you two are in the same room together. What are you waiting for, Elena?"

Elena looked at Caroline incredulously, "I need to talk to Stefan first! Sort out all this stuff. I can't just jump from his arms straight into Damon's!"

Caroline shrugged, "I don't see why not. You feel the way you feel. What good will it do to wait?"

Elena interrupted her, "But what if I'm wrong about how I feel? Or perhaps I should say: wrong _again_? Stefan was supposed to be _forever_!"

Caroline pursed her lips, "You can't protect yourself from making mistakes like that, Elena. You need to put your heart on the line. Love is all about taking risks. You only live once, and your life can be over quicker than you know. I can certainly attest to that! Seize the day, that's my motto!"

"_Seize_ _the_ _day_…" Elena repeated thoughtfully. "So you think I should just go for it?"

Caroline hesitated but then she said, "For what it's worth… and I never would have thought I would hear myself say this, but I don't think you are making a mistake, Elena. Okay, so Damon is what he is… but the guy is definitely into you. Big time. And from where I'm standing, it looks as if you aren't far behind."

When Elena sat there, silently staring out of the window at the dark landscape flying past the window that she could hardly make out, Caroline added, "Oh, yeah, and don't bother buying a dress for the contest. Damon so won that bet of yours!"

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><p>Damon sat in his car, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel while staring unseeing at the dashboard. He could still taste Elena's blood on his tongue, addictive and sweet, and it really had him on edge.<p>

His musings were interrupted by an almost inaudible sound… a moan, as if from an animal in pain, low and plaintive. He frowned, undecided for a few seconds. Then, having made up his mind, he bent sideways to the glove compartment, opening it and extracting a sharpened piece of wood. He balanced Mister Pointy on his hand for a moment, then twirled it and got out of his car again, tucking the stake in the waistband of his leather pants.

On soft feet he approached the mouth of the obscure alley, a dangerous gleam in his blue eyes. There might be a good fight in this somewhere.

What he saw in the alley was no more than he expected. With a detached air, he noticed the girl (Candy, was it?) lying in a crumpled heap against the wall, moaning pitifully. As he made to bend over her, he heard someone sneak up on him. He had no doubt it was the vampire, because he didn't hear a heartbeat, nor the rushing of blood as it was pumped round a warm body by a beating heart.

He whirled around, grabbed the vampire by his jugular and slammed him up against the brick wall. Then he faltered, his vampire features melting away in shock, and he whispered incredulously, "Well I'll be damned… _Stefan_?"

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><p><strong>AN: So, hope you liked the heart to heart between Elena and Caroline… and as for the next bit, I must say they totally surprised me there as well… I know I promised no Stefan for a while, but he just didn't want to listen… Let me know whether you liked this, please? <strong>


	35. Sibling Rivalry

**AN: Thank you, my wonderful reviewers! Lots of love to you for giving me my shot of positive energy! I hope you will still want to stay with me once the REAL THING starts again on Thursday (Yay :D) **

**Also, I'm proud to let you know that my fanfic-friend Bibi13ca wrote another smutty spin-off for this story, a sort of alternative version of the Sting of Pointy Teeth. It picks up after the chapter Untimely Interruptions, and it's called Take My Soul! She posted it last Friday. So by all means, check it out! It's a great read ;) **

**Back to Stefan and Damon… Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Previously on Shadowdancing: <em>

On soft feet he approached the mouth of the obscure alley, a dangerous gleam in his blue eyes. There might be a good fight in this somewhere…

What he saw in the alley was no more than he expected. With a detached air, he noticed the girl (Candy, was it?) lying in a crumpled heap against the wall, moaning pitifully. As he made to bend over her, he heard someone sneak up on him. He had no doubt it was the vampire, because he didn't hear a heartbeat, nor the rushing of blood as it was pumped around a warm body by a beating heart.

He whirled around, grabbed his assailant by his jugular and slammed him up against the brick wall. Then he faltered, his vampire features melting away in shock, and he whispered incredulously, "Well I'll be damned. _Stefan_?"

"Hello, _brother_," Stefan drawled around his fangs, "Aren't you happy to see me? No, I guess you wouldn't be…"

Damon's hand fell away from Stefan's throat wordlessly, allowing Stefan to push himself away from the wall with deadly grace. As he did so, he brought his face closer to his brother's, and said with a smirk, "Cat got your tongue, Damon? My, but this is a role reversal! My clever brother, lost for a witty comeback! Never thought I'd see the day!"

"You and me both," Damon shook his head slowly. With a wave of his hand in the direction of the unmoving girl on the ground, he drawled, "This is your handiwork, I suppose? You always were a messy eater!"

Stefan bared his fangs at the insult. Then his face suddenly returned to normal, the vampiric traits wiped away quicker than the blink of an eye, and he smiled, looking almost his usual self, "You'll have to do better than that to rile me, Damon!"

Damon blinked at the suddenness of the transformation and whistled softly, "Damn, you've sure got the whole Jekyll and Hyde routine down pat!"

"You don't like it?" Stefan raised an eyebrow in imitation of Damon's trademark disbelieving look, "And here I thought you wanted me back on human blood?"

Damon shrugged, "See, it just goes to show that you have to be careful what you wish for. It usually comes back to bite you in the ass!"

"Speaking of biting…" He turned his back on Stefan and crouched down to check the prone girl's pulse.

"No, she's not dead. Yet. You can still save her," Stefan said in a bored voice. "Are you going to do it? Be the _good_ brother?"

Damon looked up with a frown, "You mean, am I going to clean up your mess?"

He paused to bite his own wrist and held it against the girl's mouth, pressing down so she couldn't avoid swallowing the dark red liquid that sluggishly welled from the twin punctures. Only then did he answer Stefan, "Yeah, it looks like I am. I guess you've earned it after all those times of cleaning up after me…"

"Elena's got you whipped good, huh?" Stefan sneered. "She's turned you into a proper little housebroken vampire!" He watched Damon checking on the girl's heartbeat, but continued to casually lean against the wall, pointedly not making any effort to assist him.

"I'm not doing this for Elena. As far as I'm concerned, she'll never know about this, meaning I'm not earning myself any brownie points here," Damon narrowed his eyes at Stefan, "Believe it or not, but I'm doing this for you, little brother. Just one less grain of guilt on the big pile you're undoubtedly building for yourself!"

"How very… considerate of you!" Stefan laughed derisively.

Damon pursed his lips at Stefan's indifferent reaction, "Yes, isn't it? I'm a very considerate guy. Who said chivalry was dead?" He pulled back his wrist, the wounds having closed of their own accord, and checked Candy's strong, steady heartbeat again before getting up.

Then he raked his eyes over Stefan, taking in his tight, black leather pants, black formfitting t-shirt and messy, decidedly gel-free hair, and scrunched up his face, "Tell me. What's with the leather pants and the hair? Are you trying to be _me_ now?"

"I thought it kind of fitting," Stefan drawled, posing for Damon's benefit, "After all, you're doing a very good job of standing in for me!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Damon barked a laugh, "I hate to disappoint you, Steffy, but a hero hairdo is not my style, and Bambi and Thumper are quite safe from me!"

"Maybe, but everything else seems to be coming along just fine: the all-human friends, the all-human girl, … How's that working for you by the way? Did you get Elena to succumb to your charms yet?"

Damon narrowed his eyes, and indicated the whole scene with a sweep of his hand, encompassing the girl's prone body at his feet and Stefan's changed appearance, "Is that what all this is about? Elena?"

Stefan's lips peeled back and he growled, veins reappearing around his eyes.

Damon taunted, "She's something, isn't she? And her blood is just…" He paused significantly, as if looking for a strong enough word to describe the taste of Elena's blood; then he closed his eyes and smiled blissfully, licking his lips.

Just as he'd expected, Stefan flew at him with a roar, pinning him to the wall.

Damon smiled sadly, his suspicions confirmed, "If you still feel about her so strongly, then why did you let her go so easily, Stefan? Why not fight for her?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Stefan snarled, "Fight you?"

"Why not? I'd fight me," Damon retorted. It was so typical of his brother to sacrifice himself on the altar of love, whether or not it was justified, and without asking anyone else their opinion on the subject! He continued, contempt ringing in his voice, "No, you just had to go and write her a tear-jerking, tragic epistle, didn't you? Saddling the poor girl with so much guilt that she tried to drown herself in alcohol!"

Stefan's hand squeezed a bit tighter around Damon's throat, but Damon didn't flinch. He just kept looking at Stefan steadily, which aggravated Stefan no end, as Damon well knew.

Stefan hissed, "And I suppose you were there to comfort her?"

"What do you think? You left her, Stefan, and you left me to pick up the pieces. So you can't really blame me for picking up the girl as well, can you?" Damon raised an eyebrow, "I read your letter. I thought that's what you wanted? Or did you change your mind now that it might actually be happening?"

Stefan loosened his grip suddenly, letting Damon drop to the ground. He averted his face and said heatedly, "You know full well it's not what I wanted, but you didn't leave me any choice! You were doing your damnedest to steal her away from me, and you were succeeding all too well!"

Damon threw up his arms in disgust, "You're a goddamn fool, Stefan, if that's what you think! Elena may have succumbed to a flight of fancy in the heat of the moment, but she was by no means ready to give you up!"

"You're lying!" Stefan growled, barely contained fury in his voice, "I saw you two, making out in the parlor the day I left!"

"_You_ left too soon then, because she left me high and dry as soon as she came to her senses," Damon answered wryly.

"Come on, Damon! I was at the bar tonight! You were all over each other while you were dancing. Why did you think I lost it?" He motioned wildly at Candy. "And out in the parking lot? You were counting her lashes, were you?"

"What do you want me to say, Stefan? You as good as told the girl to take me for a test-drive!" Damon smirked, "Don't go blaming her if she decides to take you up on your offer and trade in her old boy toy for a better model!"

Stefan scowled, but Damon looked down when he heard Candy stirring and beginning to show signs of waking up. He looked back at Stefan, tipping his head while he said, "Well, I took care of the first part. Your little chew-toy is as good as new."

Then he made to push past Stefan with the clear intention of getting back to his car. "I'm leaving you to take care of your own compulsion since you're obviously on the human stuff… so you should be able to manage it. Just try not to kill her, would you? I honestly don't think I could take a baby vamp named Candy. Such an overdose of sugar is bound to give me a toothache before long!"

God, he thought, that had been a horrid way to end the evening.

Stefan pushed him back against the wall, "Not so fast, brother. I'm not done talking to you!"

But Damon had had enough, "But I am pretty much done talking to you, making this a very onesided conversation!"

Without difficulty, he pushed Stefan backwards, his own superior strength now evident in the way he broke free from Stefan's hold. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Remember, little brother, one sip of blood does not a strong vampire make! You'll never catch up with me, whatever you do. So don't think you can come after me, and stay the hell away from Elena! I'll be protecting her now, even if that means I have to protect her from you!"

Stefan was silently simmering, but if looks could stake, Damon would be a shriveled, grey corpse right then.

Damon made a show of dusting himself off meticulously and said pensively, "You know, Stefan? I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss boring, broody you! So if you feel the urge to detox and return to your old and broody, but admittedly better self, there's a cozy, fully equipped cellar at your disposal. I'll even throw in your choice of furry woodland creature for breakfast, at no additional charge."

When Stefan ostentatiously turned his back on him, Damon shrugged and sauntered out of the alley, but he couldn't resist a parting shot, "I still think the pants and the hair look better on me!"

When Stefan stiffened, Damon smiled slyly, "_Hasta la vista_, little brother. I will not say it's been a pleasure, because you know I'm a terrible liar!"

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><p><strong>AN: I know. This was darkish Damon and even darker Stefan.<strong>

**First of all, I hadn't expected Stefan to show up here; he took me totally by surprise! And it wasn't a nice surprise either, because like I already told some of you in replies to reviews, I hadn't intended to make Stefan the bad guy in this story. Even now, I don't intend to send him completely round the bend, but now that he's had a taste of human blood… Well, we'll see what happens, I guess.**

**I still hope you liked it? Get back to me by reviewing or leave me a message on twitter ( val_victrix)**


	36. Friday Night Games

**AN: Thank you very much for your patience and for your nice reviews and support! Love you all! So I decided to post this instead of an intermediate chapter that didn't really work: thanks Shadowfaxangel, for your advice and for reading all those versions. You rock!**

**So, it's Friday night and the games are on! Enjoy!**

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><p>The front door shut behind Elena with a bang caused by a sudden gust of wind and a draft from an open window somewhere in the house. The wind was clearly picking up and thunderheads were starting to roll across the sky, darkening the evening at an unusually early hour for mid-June. The air was humid and loaded with static electricity, hinting at a summer storm brewing.<p>

Elena dropped her school bag in the corner with a sigh. She'd been at the Grill for drinks after school because it was, after all, Friday evening, but she'd left early. She rolled her shoulders and frowned; she was unsettled and restless, just like the weather.

Jeremy and Damon were sitting side by side on the couch in the living room, playing a noisy video game that involved lots of shooting and things exploding with squishy sounds.

As soon as she walked in, Damon looked up at her and their gazes locked. His eyes captivated Elena for a few moments, and she lost herself in observing how their color seemed to change from blue to more bluish green with the artificial lighting.

The spell was broken when Jeremy suddenly gave a victorious yell. Elena started at the ear-splitting sound. She felt strange, as if Damon had just used compulsion on her, but she knew for sure that he hadn't. And he wouldn't. She knew that as well. Apparently Damon didn't have to resort to compulsion anymore to enthrall her. She leaned against the doorjamb to steady herself, thinking she was going to have to do something about that before long.

Jeremy was shouting in a jubilant voice, "_Yes_! Yes! You're so dead!"

"Tell me something I don't know," Damon said laconically as he turned back to Jeremy. Then he looked at the TV screen and said, "Oh, you mean the game. Well, that sucks."

"Yup," Jeremy snickered, "Ha! Serves you right for ogling my sister!"

"You saw that, did you?" Damon gave Jeremy a considering look. "You have a problem with it?"

Jeremy shrugged and shook his head, "No, man. Whatever flicks your bic."

Damon raised an eyebrow at Jeremy's expression and replied, "Yeah, it flicks my bic alright. It flicks a whole lot of other things too but I guess I'm not allowed to go into that." He said the last with a sly sideways glance at Elena, and Jeremy guffawed.

Elena flushed and exclaimed, "Damon! Stop it!"

When both Damon and Jeremy rolled their eyes simultaneously in a gesture of male solidarity, Elena stomped off to the kitchen, grumbling to herself and feeling distinctly at a disadvantage. She opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of cold water. As she was closing the fridge, Damon cornered her, trapping her neatly between the door and his body. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place, Elena thought to herself, secretly amused.

Damon leaned over and said in a low voice, "What's the matter, Elena? Why are you so quick to take offense when you should be flattered? It was meant as a compliment, you know."

Elena turned around to face him, but Damon didn't budge so she found herself right up against him. She leaned back against the fridge to look up to him and said ruefully, "You had to say something like that in front of Jeremy?"

"Oh, so it's not so much my remark as it is the fact that I said it in front of Jeremy? We're making progress," Damon smirked. "Give the boy some credit, Elena. I'm sure he can handle much racier stuff."

"He's still a kid, Damon!" Elena replied, raising her voice in irritation.

"I heard that, _Methuselah_!" Jeremy shouted from the living room, "I'll have you know I'm 16!"

This time it was Elena who rolled her eyes while Damon just shrugged. Elena scowled at him and tried to escape by squeezing past him, but he just blocked her path and purred, "Mmm, Elena. Do that again?" Elena felt heat rising to her face and stopped wriggling.

Neither of them had noticed Jeremy walking into the kitchen. As soon as his eyes fell on Damon and Elena standing very close together, he ostentatiously held his hand up to cover his eyes and remarked drily, "I'm sure you shouldn't be doing _that_ in front of a kid. It might set a bad example."

He grabbed his half-empty can of coke off the counter and turned around to make himself scarce, slouching back into the living room.

Damon's eyes were laughing as he tried to say seriously, "Yes, Elena. First you tell me off for corrupting the boy, and now you do it yourself. Can't wait to touch me, can you?"

Elena hissed, "You're going to give him the wrong idea, Damon."

Damon lowered his voice suggestively, "Or maybe the right idea, a little early?"

Elena blushed, but didn't deny it. Wordlessly she pushed at his chest again, and this time he took a step back so she could make good her escape. Damon followed her with a knowing smile as he watched her flounce back into the living room. Elena picked up the videogame, just to give herself something to do.

"Oh, you want to try it, Elena?" Jeremy inquired, pretending not to notice his sister's high color.

Elena looked at the game in her hands and said, "Killing _zombies_? I don't think so. Butt-ugly, vicious things! It's enough to give me nightmares!"

"All the more reason to kill them, I'd say!" Jeremy chuckled, "Besides, you _do_ know that the same thing can be said about a lot of …um… inhabitants of this town? Most of whom you even call your friends? Werewolves, witches, vampires?"

"Huh. I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all, but you can hardly call them butt-ugly!" Elena replied with a smile.

Damon bowed courteously in Elena's direction and said, "_Thank_ you, Elena, for taking up my defense!" As he dropped down on the couch again, he mock-slammed Jeremy over the head and said, "I definitely take exception to being called butt-ugly, twerp!"

Elena said blithely, "Oh, I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about Bonnie."

Damon gave Elena a look that promised dire retribution in the near future, making her squirm, when Jeremy asked Damon, "So, do _you_ want to play?"

"I always want to play. Just not with you," Damon drawled, and waggled his eyebrows at Elena.

"I meant, do you want revenge for me killing you just now?" Jeremy clarified with a longsuffering sigh, although he was grinning from ear to ear. If he was surprised at all by Damon's flirting with his sister, he didn't much show it.

"Oh, definitely! Give me that and be prepared to lose," Damon replied, and reached for the controller.

Elena watched incredulously as Damon and Jeremy began another game. She huffed, "You're seriously going to shoot more zombies?"

Without taking his eyes off the TV-screen, Damon replied, "Practice makes perfect, Elena! It can't hurt to get ready for the next supernatural thing to hit Mystic Falls! After all, I'm heading the council now, so I have a responsibility to this town!" Jeremy snickered.

Soon they were engrossed in the game, playfully elbowing each other in the ribs to break the other's concentration. After a few minutes of watching them, Elena pursed her lips, "Boys with toys! What a way to spend an evening! The living dead on TV, the living dead on the couch… No wonder I'm bored to death!"

Damon spared her a look to tell her, "Oh, I almost forgot. I got you a little present. It's up in your room."

"What? When were you in my room?" Elena was thinking frantically whether she'd hidden away her diary when she'd last written in it. It was just like Damon to go snooping around when she wasn't there. Hell, he even snooped around when she was!

"I brought it just now. Jeremy told me to put it in your room," Damon replied, his eyes again glued to the game, fingers nimbly dancing over the buttons.

"You let him into my room?" Elena demanded of Jeremy.

Jeremy shrugged without taking his eyes off the screen, "So what? They're always in your room. Makes me think I don't want to know what's going on in there most of the time!"

Elena watched as both Jeremy and Damon smirked. No, it was not a good idea to have them spend too much time together (though they were actually cute like that). Since neither of them even so much as glanced at her, she left the room and stomped up the stairs.

As soon as she pushed open the door to her bedroom, she saw it, sitting on the bed. An expensive looking, creamy white cardboard box with a ruby red ribbon tied about it. Another rose, similar to the one Damon had left with the salsa invitation, was tucked into the bow.

This was like Christmas… or her birthday! She pulled out the rose, automatically lifting it to her nose, inhaling its sweet fragrance before putting it on the bed so she could untie the ribbon and open the box.

Nestled in a wealth of crackling white tissue paper was a dress. Or part of a dress at least, Elena saw, as she reverently took it out of the box. It was black, the blackest of blacks, absorbing every particle of light. There was just enough opaque material to cover up some essential parts, but not a lot of them. Most of the dress was made of a nearly transparent gauzy material that would undoubtedly reveal more than it concealed.

Heat rose up to her face at the thought of wearing it. Damon couldn't truly intend for her to wear this dress for the salsa contest! Though it was lovely, it wasn't the kind of dress she would ever be comfortable wearing in public, let alone for a contest where all the people she knew were going to be present and watching her! How dare he think she'd wear something like this?

She was already on her way to the door to give him a piece of her mind for buying her such a ridiculous thing to wear when she reconsidered…

Would Damon really do that? Why would he give her a dress that was more fit to be worn for a lover than to be seen by the general public? Or could it be that he was just playing a joke on her? He knew her very well. Maybe he'd counted on her flying off the handle upon seeing that dress.

Hmm… She smiled slowly when an idea popped into her head. If he was trying to ruffle her feathers, maybe she could get even by ruffling his?

She shook out the dress (what there was of it) and turned to the mirror, holding it in front of her body. Admittedly it was a beautiful dress, and she itched to put it on and see how it would look on her.

She quickly stripped to her underwear and reached for the dress before thinking better of it. Her underwear wasn't fit for this dress. She rummaged through the drawer containing her underthings until she found a minuscule black thong and some sheer stockings. She left the matching bra in the drawer: the dress was obviously not meant to be worn with much underneath.

She shimmied into the dress, enjoying the luxurious feeling of the buttery soft material against her skin. It settled over her curves as if it was made just for her. She smoothed the fabric over her hips with a tiny sigh of contentment and then slipped her feet into her dancing shoes to complete the picture.

A rosy blush rose to her cheeks when she looked in the mirror again. It was truly a beautiful dress and it fit her to perfection. What really made color bloom in her cheeks though, was the way the dress clung to her body, ingeniously revealing what it pretended to conceal, just as she'd thought it would. She swallowed when she imagined Damon's eyes on her while she was wearing this. It even felt strange to know that he'd picked it out for her. Would she really be bold enough to go through with this? She couldn't take too much time to think this over, or she just knew she'd be back in her normal clothes and downstairs before long.

She opened the door and called down, "Damon! About that present of yours. Could you come upstairs for a minute?" She wasn't too surprised to hear that her voice wasn't all that steady...

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><p><strong>AN: Jeremy, Damon and Elena... You like? You know it's your reviews that keep me writing, so push that button, please?<strong>


	37. Roses and Thorns

**AN: I'm so very sorry for the long wait… I'll be updating once a week for the time being, because I'm really not satisfied with what I wrote following this chapter, so I need some more time to rework it. *puppy dog eyes* I hope my wonderful readers will forgive me?**

**Also thanks to those readers who sent me wonderful, fantastic, uplifting, … reviews! There are no words to describe how much your comments mean to me :D**

**And so, Elena is wearing Damon's naughty present. Enjoy!**

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><p>Elena opened the door and called down, "Damon! About that present of yours. Could you come upstairs for a minute?" She wasn't too surprised to hear that her voice wasn't all that steady…<p>

Less than a minute later, Damon pushed open the door to her room and paused on the threshold. His eyes widened when he saw Elena sitting on the chair, legs crossed seductively, a smile slightly curling the corners of her mouth upwards.

He stood there for a moment, motionless, looking her over so thoroughly that she felt like blushing as red as the rose lying on her bedspread. Then he stepped inside, moving slowly, as if he were an unsuspecting sailor who'd suddenly come across an alluring siren and was irresistibly drawn by her seductive song. Without taking his eyes off her, he closed the door by leaning against it with his back.

His silent admiration made Elena smile wider, albeit a little tremulously. Nerves were closing up her throat, so she didn't say anything; she just uncrossed her legs slowly and stood.

Damon watched her every move, frozen as if hypnotized. If he had needed to breathe, his breath would have been stuck in his throat by now. As it was, he was feeling lightheaded as he was gazing upon the vision of loveliness before him. God, but she was beautiful! He'd figured as much when he'd seen the dress and pictured her wearing it, but this…

Gratified that she'd succeeded in stunning Damon speechless, Elena pulled herself together and twirled, making a gracious pirouette. She gushed, almost tripping over her words with breathlessness, "Oh, Damon! This is such a lovely dress! Everybody's going to be so jealous when I wear it for the contest!"

Damon came back to reality with a start. He cleared his throat and said, "_What_? You're going to wear it for the contest? But…"

"Of course! Oh, it's so beautiful! How can I ever thank you?" Elena suppressed a triumphant smile when she noted his frown. So, she'd been right, hadn't she? He'd just been trying to get a rise out of her!

Damon was at a loss for a moment. She actually liked it? He'd been so sure she'd be mad as a hornet about a dress like that. He looked at her again, uncertainly. Then he noticed the impish sparkle in her eyes, and saw she was biting her lip in an attempt not to smile.

Ha! He should have known! The little vixen was just teasing him. Then her words registered, belatedly, and he smiled, a dangerous gleam in his eyes, "Well, that's settled then! I was afraid you might not like it… So, you wanted to thank me, did you?"

Elena's victorious smile faltered slightly. She had actually not thought beyond getting back at him. What was she going to do now? She swallowed a little nervously as she watched him push away from the door to stalk noiselessly closer.

Damon picked up the rose from the bed and twirled the stem between his fingers, breaking eye contact to gaze at it thoughtfully for a moment. When he looked up again, he was smiling like a cat that got the canary.

Elena looked at him apprehensively and took a cautious step backwards. And another one. For each step she retreated, he mirrored her movements and took one step forward, almost as if they were dancing. Until her back hit the wall and there was nowhere left to go.

He didn't touch her, but he was close enough now to feel her body heat rolling off her in waves. Energy seemed to crackle in the air between them, like an echo of the flashes of lightning and the rolling thunder in the distance.

She was no longer laughing when he brought the rosebud up to his lips and blew a kiss on it. Then he used the rosebud to stroke her face, sliding its velvety petals agonizingly slowly from her temple, across her cheek and nose, and finally down to her mouth.

Now Elena was the lightheaded one, her breath hitching in her throat with the sensory overload: the sweet fragrance of the rose, intermingled with Damon's unique musky scent of sandalwood and leather, invaded her nose, while at the same time her face tingled with awareness from the silky feel of the rose caressing her skin.

Her eyes were wide open, unblinkingly watching his expression of rapt concentration as his eyes tracked the path of the rose across her face. He could see the flush creeping over her skin in spite of the semi-darkness of the room, and hear the way her heart rate picked up speed. He twirled the rosebud on her mouth, applying a little more pressure, as if he was kissing her with it. When he lifted the flower away, her mouth opened slightly and she moistened her suddenly dry lips with the tip of her tongue. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, as if she was standing on quicksand, and the slightest movement was likely to mire her deeper into treacherous ground.

Damon leaned over, still not touching her, and whispered in her ear, "How about you thank me with a kiss, Elena?"

Since she'd been fighting the urge to kiss him for a while now, this seemed like the perfect idea. She smiled and took a step closer to him, reducing the space between them from small to nonexistent, stood on tiptoe and slid her hands in his hair to pull his head down to her lips. Damon acquiesced willingly, and Elena pressed her lips to his.

At first, he tried to hold back and keep the kiss soft and tender, but Elena was having none of it. She nipped his bottom lip with her teeth and had the satisfaction of hearing Damon's low groan as he gave her what she wanted and opened his mouth, hungrily moving his lips over hers. He couldn't keep his hands off her any longer, and trailed them over her scantily clad body as if memorizing its contours, from her hips to her waist and upwards, slowly and thoroughly exploring every inch of gauze-covered skin.

Elena moaned in delight when she found out how incredibly erotic it felt to have him touch her through the velvet soft fabric of the dress. Keeping one hand tangled in his hair, she brought the other one down to his chest, and started undoing the buttons of his shirt.

His hands had worked their way upwards to her breasts, only to discover that she wasn't wearing anything underneath the silky material. He tore his mouth away from hers and said hoarsely, "God, Elena, are you're trying to kill me?"

Her eyes came up to his, the pupils dilated so far that her eyes were nearly black. She gave a breathy giggle, "You know I can't do that, Damon! You're already dead!"

"Feisty, aren't you?" He replied with a wicked smile, and pushed his lower body firmly against her, murmuring, "Do I feel dead to you?"

"Oh…" She gasped when she felt him suddenly intimately pressing against her. Then she smiled mischievously in return, "No, you feel very much alive, and quite happy to see me, I think!"

"Very happy indeed," Damon's chuckle caught in his throat when she deliberately pushed back, wiggling a bit, and he groaned, "I'm going to make you pay for that, Elena!"

Elena raised an eyebrow, "You and whose army?"

"Oh, I think I can make you beg all by myself," Damon said with a teasing smile as his thumbs caressed the side of her breasts through the thin material and Elena gave a breathy sigh.

Then she looked up at him and said impishly, "Words, words… Are you going to put your money where your mouth is?"

"My _money_?" He whispered against her ear. "And here I thought you were after something else entirely!"

"What gave me away?" Elena giggled, escaping from his arms by ducking underneath them. "But you'll have to do better than that if you want to make me beg!"

"Come here and say that to my face, you teasing little-" Damon made to grab her, but Elena proved elusive. So he turned and tackled her, and they both fell on the bed in a heap of tangled limbs, laughing.

And with the ominous sound of tearing fabric.

Elena's eyes widened and Damon had trouble keeping a straight face at her suddenly alarmed expression. He let himself fall back onto the bed, lying with his head on her pillow and his hands behind his head as he watched her antics with interest.

Elena had felt the gauzy material split across her back, but she didn't know how big the tear was. She tried to look over her shoulder to assess the damage. When she sat up gingerly, the dress slithered down, its back well and truly torn. Elena's hands flew up to pull the fabric back up and hold it in place over her breasts, and Damon burst out laughing.

She looked up at him with big eyes and whispered, "Oh, no. I'm afraid I tore it!"

He chuckled, "I guess you won't be wearing it for the contest then!"

Elena looked at him in surprise and said with as much dignity as she could muster while sitting on the bed half-naked, "That's not funny, Damon! We just ruined this lovely dress!"

"Oh, Elena! Don't worry about it. I've got another dress for you to wear," He was still laughing.

It made Elena look at him suspiciously, "So, I was right all along? You never intended for me to wear this dress for the contest?"

"You were right," He confirmed and then shook his head, "But it wasn't nice of you to make me think you were going to wear it! If my heart hadn't already stopped beating a long time ago, it would have stopped then and there!"

Elena raised her hand to swat him playfully on the arm, but she had to grab the dress again to keep from involuntarily going topless.

At that moment there was a loud knock on the door. Neither of them had heard Jeremy coming up the stairs, though he hadn't been particularly quiet about it. Jeremy's voice sounded on the other side of the door, "Elena, Jenna's home. I thought you might like to know that she's going out with Ric tonight, so she's going to be coming upstairs to change her clothes!"

"Thanks for letting me know, Jer," Elena replied, her eyes never leaving Damon's.

As they heard Jeremy bounding down the stairs again, Damon smiled ruefully and remarked, "Oops. Almost caught in flagrante. Your brother is more astute than most people give him credit for, Elena."

He got up from the bed, buttoning his shirt, and continued, "Seeing as Jenna's not one of my biggest fans, I think this is my cue to leave," He lifted the sash of the window and looked outside: it was still dry, but the lightning was getting closer, flashes illuminating the sky at regular intervals.

Elena nodded hesitantly, and, she wasn't surprised to note, with obvious regret. She scrambled off the bed, holding her torn dress in front of her to cover her semi-nudity. Making up her mind, she opened her mouth and started, "Damon, wait! I'd like it if-"

But Damon had turned his head towards the door, clearly listening to the sounds from downstairs, "Jenna's coming up, Elena. You might want to put on something besides that. However tempting you look to me, she might think you're somewhat underdressed?"

He turned to her again and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, saying earnestly, "Thank you for wearing it for me, Elena."

There was a soft breath of air and Damon was gone, leaving Elena standing in the middle of the room, a hand extended to stop him. She finished her sentence under her breath, "-you could stay?"

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><p><strong>AN: If you liked it, I hope you will take the time to drop me a little word in that review box… I promise to reply - if you'll enable PM'ing of course!<strong>

**Shameful self-promotion: val_victrix ;)**


	38. Seize the Night

**AN: I really want to thank all of my lovely readers for their patience, and my fantastic reviewers for their wonderful, ****truly brilliant comments! I already told you that if it hadn't been for you, this story would not get written at all. So, me and my muse thank you from the bottom of our Delena-shipper hearts ;) **

**Thank you as well to Shadowfaxangel, one-in-a-million beta, for boosting my spirits and for stroking my ego when it is once more shivering in a corner for one reason or another (you know what I mean) ;) **

**Now just a little word of WARNING… this will remain a T-rated story, though I know I'm toeing the line some of the time *smirk* This chapter is no different: it explores the very edges of T-ratedness, so skip it if you're not into touchy-feely (though I expect most of you are, or you'd have left me a long LONG time ago LOL). And so, here goes my longest chapter to date!**

**_Enjoy_ (*insert suggestive lift of one eyebrow here*) **

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><p>As soon as Jenna had left with Ric, Elena went into the bathroom to take a shower. She was still restive and edgy, perhaps even more so after her brief, but sexually charged encounter with Damon, and soothing water running over her skin usually helped to relax her. So for the second time in a few hours, she took off her clothes, this time depositing them in the laundry hamper.<p>

She put the shower as cold as she could stand, because the oppressive humidity in the air was already making her sweat without any effort at all. Cooling down was definitely on the agenda, for more reasons than one! Only, when she was standing under the lukewarm spray, the cool water streaming down her body reminded her too much of Damon's cool fingers gliding over her skin for there to be any relaxing effect whatsoever.

With a dissatisfied sigh, she reached for her favorite vanilla body wash and started lathering herself abundantly with it, but even her own soapy hands were turning her on now, because she couldn't help but imagine other hands running down her body. Magical, knowing hands with long, tapered fingers…

Groaning in frustration, she hurriedly rinsed the soapy suds off her body and turned off the shower. After vigorously drying herself off, she put on her pajamas, a checkered blue and white pair of pajama shorts and a bluish-purple top, and released her hair from the elastic band she'd put it in to keep it dry.

She walked back into her room and let herself fall down on her bed with a thud, thoughts churning in her head. She had definitely intended to wait until after talking to Stefan before doing anything definite about this uncomfortable situation with Damon, but she was so tired of fighting the attraction. And what if Caroline was right? What good would it do to wait?

She rolled onto her stomach and buried her head in the pillow. But her movement suddenly arrested when she caught a whiff of … Damon? Her mind showed her a picture of Damon lying back on the pillow, laughing because she'd torn the dress. She inhaled his lingering, elusive scent deeply and sighed, images tumbling over each other in her mind. Just thinking of him did all manner of strange things to her insides, impressing on her that she was in serious trouble, as if she hadn't known that already! She squeezed her legs together and heaved a frustrated sigh. Again.

The window flying open and slamming against the wall on a heavy gust of wind made her jump, startling her out of her musings. She leaped out of bed to close it again, and then stood there for a few minutes, staring out of the window at the thunderheads obscuring the moon and stars, making the night black as sin save for the occasional flashes of lightning that outlined the skeletal silhouettes of the trees flailing about wildly in the rising wind. She shivered, knowing she'd never sleep now.

Without consciously making a decision, she shoved her feet in a pair of flip-flops. Not bothering to put on anything over her pajamas (it was warm enough anyway), she silently moved down the stairs and stuck her head around the corner of the living room. Jeremy was still playing his game, so when she shouted over the pops and noise of the game that she was going to the boarding house, he just raised a hand in acknowledgement without looking up, like she'd known he would.

She grabbed her car keys from the table in the hallway and dashed to her car, just as the first drops of rain started falling. As she drove to the boarding house, she had the strangest feeling that the thunderstorm was chasing her, hurrying her towards Damon like a leaf on the wind. Big, fat raindrops splashed on the windshield, streaking the fine layer of dust that had accumulated there with the long draught.

By the time she arrived at the boarding house, the rain was pouring down, big sheets of it, obscuring her sight, but she did see enough to note that the boarding house looked dark and quite deserted. Disappointment settled heavily in her stomach, until she saw that there was a light on in Damon's room. She let out a relieved breath. It looked as though he'd just retired for the night.

When she opened her car door and got out, the rain hit her face full force. She slammed the car door shut and scurried to the front door, shaking herself like a wet dog as soon as she was inside, blessing them for never locking the doors. Pensively she stared at the closed front door. Then she deliberately shot the heavy bolt home, at the same time locking herself in with Damon and shutting out the rest of the world…

After quickly making her way upstairs, she hesitated in front of the door to Damon's room, suddenly unsure. Was she really going to do this?

Damon was lounging on his bed, long legs stretched out before him, reading a book. Only he wasn't reading: he was staring at the page, wondering how to get Stefan into vampire rehab, when he heard the car approaching in the driveway. He wasn't worried by the noises of someone coming in the front door since he'd recognized the sound of Elena's car.

But he did raise his eyebrows in surprise when he heard her bolt the door. He listened to her silent footsteps on the stairs, and then he heard her breathing outside his room, taking shallow, shaky breaths. So he called out, "Hello, Elena. You can come in, you know. I'm decent this time 'round!"

Elena heard the laughter in his voice, and she pushed open the door with a sheepish look on her face. He was indeed more than decent, wearing his clothes from earlier, his familiar black jeans and his shirt with the sleeves rolled up. She didn't stop to think why she even felt slightly disappointed. She just walked in wordlessly and closed the door by leaning her back into it, unconsciously mirroring Damon's gesture upon entering her room earlier that evening.

As she stepped across the threshold, Damon's nose detected a whiff of moisture and wet grass that came in with her, with the underlying aroma of sweet vanilla that he always associated with Elena. His eyes traveled down her scantily clad form and his eyebrows rose as he remarked, "Cute PJ's."

She blushed a little at his frank perusal and looked around, just to give herself something to do besides stare at him (or at the huge bed that dominated the room). The room was shrouded in semi-darkness, with just the one lamp on the bedside table lit. The drapes were open though, revealing the stormy night. The inky blackness outside the window was soon ripped apart by the next streak of lightning, eerily illuminating the dark clouds, and this time, it was very close by and clearly visible. Elena shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

"You're not afraid of thunderstorms, are you?" Damon asked, having noticed her shiver. He put his book down and pushed himself up from the bed.

"Not afraid, exactly. I just don't like them very much," She replied, still leaning against the closed door, watching him as he stalked closer like a gracious black cat.

"I love thunderstorms," Damon said, suggestively lifting one eyebrow, "They bring such good memories…"

Elena understood very well what he was talking about. Last time there'd been a thunderstorm, was the first time they'd kissed for real… She lowered her eyes, blushing at the memory.

Damon observed her blush and sidled up closer to her. Elena looked up in surprise when he purred, "If you're afraid of the storm, maybe we should take your mind off it? Provide you with a distraction of sorts? I'm sure I can find a way." One knuckle trailed down her cheek slowly.

His brilliant sapphire eyes snagged her gaze once more, promising sweet delight, and his soft touch made her want to touch him in return. She dropped her car keys on the floor right where she stood and breathed almost inaudibly, "Dance with me?"

He smiled his sexy, lopsided smile and her heart flip-flopped in her chest. It was no use trying to tell herself that these feelings would go away any time soon. She simply couldn't resist him any longer, nor did she want to. She watched him walk over to the stereo mounted into the wall and turn it on. A slow, sensual merengue poured from the speakers, the soft, Latin music flooding the room like mist, trapping them in its spell and unobtrusively creating a dreamy atmosphere in counterpoint to the raging storm outside.

Damon was barefoot, and Elena toed off her flip-flops. Then she took a few steps away from the door and just stood there, waiting for him to come back to her. He did, but he stopped right in front of her, as if wanting her to make the first move. She closed the distance between them and twined her arms around his neck without any hesitation. His hands came to rest on the swell of her waist ever so lightly, but she was well aware they were there. Then his thumbs slipped underneath the hem of her top, pressing into her flesh.

They started dancing, easily adjusting to each other's movements, their hips moving in time with the beat. Time seemed to draw itself out like spun sugar.

The music didn't succeed in drowning out the sound of the thunder rumbling overhead, and the room occasionally lit up with the stroboscopic effect of the lightning, but Elena found she didn't care so much now that Damon was there to take her mind off things. She looked into his eyes, amazed and excited by the smoldering heat she saw reflected in their unfathomable blue-green depths, and deliberately let herself sink into it.

Damon's arms tightened around her. His hands slipped down to cup her bottom and he pulled her in closer, molding their bodies together from the waist down. A single strand of damp hair stuck to the side of her face, and he raised one hand to gently brush it away as they swayed rhythmically to the music. His finger lingered, outlining the outer shell of her ear, and then it slowly skimmed down to trace her bottom lip.

She opened her mouth and drew his finger inside, lightly sucking on it for a moment. After a moment, he pulled it out with a slight popping sound and drew the wet digit across her chin and down her throat. Then he blew lightly on the moistened trail, his cool breath a startling contrast against her heated skin, making chills run down her spine in quick succession.

Her breath caught in her throat and she leaned her upper body slightly backwards, though she kept moving to the music, grinding her pelvis against his increasing hardness. He countered her movement by pushing back, and heat swirled in het stomach, making her weak in the knees.

Damon closed his eyes, immensely enjoying the sensation of Elena – his Elena – so close by. He inhaled deeply, savoring her unique scent, a blend of vanilla and warm skin and pure Elena, with an elusive trace of excitement and arousal underneath. It was what he imagined happiness to smell like, and it was more addictive than anything he could think of.

Elena let her hands glide down from his shoulders to his chest, and started unbuttoning his shirt, one slow button at a time. She pressed a wet kiss to every bit of cool flesh she uncovered, slowly working her way down.

Damon stilled. His wretched conscience had to choose now of all times to remind him of his brother, just when it looked as though he might finally get something he'd been craving for so long. Regretfully, he opened his eyes again, and said, "Wait. Brief pause." Then he put two fingers under her chin to lift her face and make her look at him, "Elena, are you sure about this?"

She looked up at him with smoldering brown eyes and told him huskily, "Yes. I'm sure. I want you, Damon. I know you want to hear more than that, but I'm not at liberty to tell you more, not until I've talked to… um…" She trailed off, wincing slightly at the thought of Stefan, but then she ruthlessly suppressed the twinge of conscience.

"Then shouldn't you be doing the talking thing first?" Damon heard himself say, and cursed himself for being ten kinds of fool. He was just so afraid that Elena would come to regret this later! Even though he never would.

His shirt was partway undone, and Elena walked her fingers down the part of his chest that she'd already uncovered. Then she looked back up at him and said self-consciously, "Maybe I should, but I've been fighting you and myself for so long now! I can't fight it any longer; I don't want to."

She pressed her body all the way against his and took hold of the lapels of his shirt, as if she needed to press her point, "What I do want - more than anything - is to make love to you. Can't that be enough for now?"

He hesitated, "Yes. But…"

She lifted a finger to his lips to silence him, and whispered, "Sssh. Remember time out? For now, there's just you and me. _No regrets_. Okay?"

No regrets. He knew he wasn't going to have any regrets, and if she wasn't either… Unable to resist any longer, Damon gave in with a low groan of surrender. Even if he was no longer human; he was still only a man. So he drew her against him, firmly wrapping one arm around her waist. His other hand enmeshed itself in her hair, tilting her head at the perfect angle for kissing. Elena melted against him, making a tiny sound of satisfaction deep in her throat.

Then his mouth captured her lips in a searing hot kiss that held nothing back. It was shockingly carnal, but surprisingly intimate at the same time, because their eyes were still open. Elena didn't care that his lips were bruising hers, because he was kissing her with the same intensity that he did everything else, and it was making her breathless with desire.

Gone was the dreamy, slow exploration from before; now there was just urgency and overwhelming, burning need.

Her hands were still gripping the lapels of his shirt, and she ripped it the rest of the way open, sending the buttons flying. Then she pushed it off his shoulders. He shrugged out of it without breaking the kiss. Unhindered by textile, her hands feverishly roamed his bare chest, and she marveled at the sensation of smooth skin over steel, feeling the raw strength contained in his powerful body.

Damon's mouth moved away from her lips, and she let her head fall back, giving him access to her very vulnerable throat without second thought. But Damon was in control this time. He savored the titillating sensation of Elena's velvety, warm skin and crazily thrumming pulse under his lips as he kissed his way down her throat, his hands stroking her through the thin material of her top, setting all of her senses ablaze.

Elena felt him drawing a fiery trail across her flesh: her breathing turned shallow and erratic and she couldn't hold in a low moan. Her hands fumbled clumsily with his belt buckle as she slowly started backing away towards the bed, pulling him along with her.

Damon chuckled softly, the sound vibrating against her skin, and murmured, "A little impatient, are we?"

Elena backed away another step and bumped into one of the posters of his bed. She whimpered, "Yes! I've been waiting long enough!"

"But I want to take this slow," Damon pouted adorably.

His fingers ghosted across her skin, feather light touches down her arms and up again, to her collarbone and down her back. He purred in a deep voice that seemed to resonate low in her belly, "I want to kiss every inch of your delectable skin. I want to taste you all over until you beg for mercy!"

"Damon!" Elena breathed exasperatedly, at the same time blushing and squirming from his almost-touch and the visuals she got from his words, "Stop talking! Or I will make you stop!"

Damon's eyes laughed at her very obvious impatience. She looked so cute, all flushed and fidgeting, and with a tiny frown between her eyebrows, and he repeated her own words from earlier that night, "You and whose army?"

Elena raised an eyebrow in mock imitation of him and smiled, her smile so deliciously wicked that Damon's eyes widened. Deliberately she put her hands to his belt buckle again, and started undoing it. Who cared if her hands were shaking a little? Then she slowly pulled down the zipper. When she finally touched him, Damon's breath left him in a hiss, his eyes suddenly a few shades darker.

Elena licked her lips and whispered mischievously, "I just knew you'd be going commando!"

The look he gave her in response burned a hole right through her, all the way to her soul.

Apparently he didn't want to go slow after that, because he pushed the straps of her top down, baring her to his gaze. Then he growled low in his throat, picked her up and tossed her onto the bed. She landed with a gasp and a giggle, expecting him to follow her.

But he didn't. He just stood there for a few seconds and admired her with hooded eyes, hearing her breathing speed up and her heart race without him touching her at all. He didn't need to. His eyes felt like a physical caress on her naked skin and she trembled, uncontrollable shivers chasing one another across her skin. Her body reacted all on its own, visibly betraying her need. She moaned and reached out for him. In a flash he joined her on his bed.

The thunderstorm raged on and spent itself. But neither of them noticed a thing…

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><p><strong>AN: That was a longish chapter, right? So I hope you enjoyed it? Please let me know, because I was really hesitant on whether the timing was right for this… <strong>

**Now, for those of you who are not satisfied *wink* with the way things ended here: I'm currently working on an M-rated continuation/spin-off for this chapter. So keep an eye out for that, because it will be posted separately from this story, and it's called Slowdancing In A Burning Room. Look for it on my profile, guys :) **

**2Serendipity aka val_victrix**


	39. Rise and Shine

**AN: first of all, I'm humbly apologizing to you all for a long list of things: **

**(1) sorry for not replying to all of your wonderful reviews. I promise I will as soon as possible. There's no excuse but lack of time, but I WILL get to it! **

**(2) sorry for not posting the smutty spin-off to the last chapter yet. I know that a lot of you have been waiting for that, but again, the time was sort of lacking, also with writing this chapter, because I hadn't intended to write it. But since a good number of my wonderful reviewers professed interest in what would happen the morning after THE night, I decided to give them their due. I hope you like it, and I'm almost through the smut! I promise it's coming soon! and finally **

**(3) sorry that this is kind of short: it refused to grow any longer, but I promise you next chapter WILL be long, very long (for me at least).**

**Whew! On to the thank yous... Thank you for reading. Thank you for reviewing, so very much (also to those people I can't reply personally)! Thank you for alerting and adding this to your favorites... I still can't get over so many people still doing that every week, but I love all of you for still following this story. My muse really thrives on praise! Finally, thank you, Shadowfaxangel, for your wonderful support!**

**So, here goes the chapter I hadn't intended to write... Enjoy! **

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><p>When Damon woke up, Elena was curled into him, still sleeping soundly. Her hair was twisted tightly around his arm, a strangely symbolic and visual representation of the way he was inextricably wrapped up in this slender girl. He didn't dare move; afraid she would wake up and break the spell of this moment. He wanted to enjoy the sensation of his Elena – he certainly thought of her as 'his' now – sleeping in his arms. It was a feeling he wanted to savour, to cherish as a precious memory. No matter what would happen later, nobody would ever be able to take this away from him.<p>

Elena opened her eyes to the feeling of someone watching her. She blinked a few times and yawned, and then turned her head to Damon. God, but he was just as perfect in the morning as he'd been last night. She gave him a sleepy smile and murmured a drowsy good morning, sounding strangely bashful considering their activities from the past night.

Damon smirked in reply. Then he pulled her to him by gently tugging the hair that was still wound around his arm and pressed a soft kiss to the tip of her nose with a whispered, "Hello, lover. Sleep well?"

Elena blushed slightly at his choice of words, but she replied, "Mmm, yes." She stretched herself like a cat, causing the sheet to slide down a little ways, exposing the tops of her breasts. She didn't bother pulling the sheet up again, but flopped onto her stomach to look at him.

He stared back at her intently, anxiously searching her face for signs of regret about last night. There were none that he could see, but he just couldn't help himself.

Elena's gaze turned serious and she asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Damon hesitated. He cursed himself for being suddenly so insecure, but that was just what she did to him sometimes. He lifted one shoulder in a noncommittal shrug, "No regrets?"

Elena raised a hand to rub at the frown between his eyebrows, trying to smooth it out. Then she shook her head, "No, Damon, no regrets. I told you last night, didn't I? It was just time to seize the day - well, the night would be more exact, I suppose…"

Damon could have sworn his unbeating heart skipped a beat in relief. He gave her a self-mocking smile, and mused, "Carpe diem, huh? If this is the result, you should definitely do it more often!"

Elena giggled, "_Carpe_ what?"

"Carpe diem quam minima credula postero," Damon repeated, the Latin flowing from his tongue without any hesitation.

Elena drew one finger from his bare shoulder to his chest and said with a cheeky grin, "Mmm, I love it when you talk dirty to me!"

Damon burst out laughing, a thoroughly happy sound. "Dirty? Tsk, Elena! Don't they teach you anything in school these days? It's Latin, from Horace's Odes. It means something like, 'seize the day and don't put too much faith in the future'."

Elena smiled ruefully and said, "That suits my life to a tee. I think I'll adopt it, if I can learn how to pronounce it right!" She cast him a coy glance from under her lashes, "But I'm sure you can teach me!"

Elena's casual reference to her life reminded Damon again of his brother, and the bit of unpleasantness that he needed to tell Elena about before long. He wasn't particularly looking forward to it though. Suddenly sober, he said, "Elena. There's something we need to talk about…"

The grave tone of his voice made Elena narrow her eyes suspiciously, "What is it?"

Damon opened his mouth, brow furrowing, thinking how he was going to bring this up, "It's about Stefan."

Elena sat up abruptly, pulling the sheet up to cover herself. She held up a hand to stop him, "Are you seriously going to ruin this moment?"

Damon looked apologetic. Then he grimaced, "Yeah, I'm fairly certain that what I'm about to tell you isn't going to give you warm fuzzies. But-"

"Then I don't want to hear it, Damon." Elena said resolutely, sliding out of bed. She picked up her panties and looked around for the rest of her clothes. When she didn't find anything more, she shrugged and slid her arms into Damon's discarded shirt, pulling it around her.

"I think you need to hear it, Elena," Damon insisted, getting up too, and slipping into his pants.

"No, I don't. Please, Damon," she walked closer and looked up to him with a pleading look, "I don't want to have to think about Stefan right now. He told me he'd be back after the contest, so that's when I'll think about him. No sooner. And definitely not right now."

Damon opened his mouth, but Elena ran her fingertips down his bare chest and said almost fiercely, "Right now, I only want to think about you. I want to live a little. Is that too much to ask?"

She gripped the waistband of his jeans and pulled him against her, "Just for one week, I want to be a normal teenage girl whose biggest worry is whether or not she's gonna get a zit on her chin. I want to stress about nothing more serious than the dance contest, be afraid that I'll trip over my own feet…" She trailed off, blinking furiously when her eyes grew suspiciously moist. She was _not_ going to cry!

Damon cupped her face between his hands and said earnestly, "I get it, Elena. This week, you don't want to channel Bella Swan; you just want to live the latest episode of Glee…"

"_Yes_! Just for one single week! And then next week, we can get back to our regularly scheduled drama."

"I understand," Damon said soothingly. Well, that clinched it. He just couldn't tell her now. She'd be wrecked with guilt. She'd be unhappy. And how much chance was there really that Stefan would come back before next week? This might all work out for the best. If he could only find Stefan before Stefan found them!

Swearing to himself to do whatever needed to be done to secure his brother, he rubbed his thumb gently along her full lips, "Don't worry, Elena. I'll take care of it. You can have your Glee, as long as you don't make me sing!"

Elena's smile broke through at the dry remark that was so typical of Damon, and her eyes cleared.

His hands were still framing her face, and he gazed at her in wonder and murmured, "Beautiful." Then he leaned in closer, his forehead touching hers.

Elena closed her eyes and whispered against his lips, "Kiss me, Damon." It wasn't a question.

She felt a flutter in her stomach when their lips touched. He tasted like the best drink she'd ever had, and she drank him in greedily, the power of the kiss making her heart race and her breath stutter. It made her feel all tingly inside.

When his phone started ringing, the shrill sound made them jump apart. He fished it from his back pocket, looked at it and pursed his lips. But he didn't pick up the call.

Elena looked at him questioningly, "Aren't you going to answer that?"

"No. I'll call back later," he replied absentmindedly, and she could see he was preoccupied.

"So I'm going to pick up some clothes in… um… Stefan's room," She hesitated for a second, not exactly comfortable with that situation. "I'll…uh… get your shirt back to you."

Damon dropped the phone on the bed and walked closer as he looked her over. He remarked drily, "With or without the buttons?"

Elena blushed and looked down at the shirt with all of its two remaining buttons. She looked back up apologetically, "Um… Sorry?"

"Oh, don't apologize. I've got plenty of shirts, though admittedly, you're going through them at an alarming rate," He laughed when her blush darkened, "But if you're going to be wearing them anyway, I'd prefer them with _no_ buttons at all."

Elena shook her head with a smile and flashed him a bit of cleavage before turning towards the door. But Damon was suddenly standing between her and the door, blocking her way.

"So, will I see you tonight?" He asked, keeping his voice carefully neutral. No reason to sound like a lovesick puppy after all. Even if that was just what he was, he wryly admitted to himself.

Elena's face fell. Her voice was tinged with regret as she said, "I can't. I promised Caroline and Bonnie I'd meet them tonight. Girls only, I'm afraid."

"Oh, Ladies' Night, is it?" When she nodded, a decidedly wicked gleam entered his eyes. He did his eye-thing and suggested with a wink, "Don't you need a hot male stripper to ensure you don't get bored?"

Elena's eyes almost popped out of her head. Then she snorted and said incredulously, "You mean… _You_?"

"Why not?" Damon casually lifted one shoulder and smirked, "It wouldn't be the first time."

Elena's eyes started glittering, and she mused, "Now that sounds like an interesting story that I'd love to hear some time!"

"So are you going to take me up on my offer?" Damon cocked an eyebrow questioningly.

Elena huffed an exasperated laugh and wiggled her index finger under his nose, "No way! That sexy butt is _mine_!"

Damon laughed, "Getting possessive already, are you?" When she scowled, he pressed a quick kiss on her lips, and whispered in her ear, "I like it!"

"You bet!" Elena replied, and sashayed to the door clad in her panties and his shirt. As she passed Damon on her way there, she gave him a teasing little slap on his butt. His laughter followed her all the way to Stefan's room.

Damon waited until he heard her car move away from the house a short while later, and then he grabbed his phone. He pressed a button and waited. The call was picked up almost immediately.

"Liz? I need a favor."

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><p><strong>AN: so, I hope this isn't too much of a letdown after the last one, but I figured we needed a breather LOL! And I really hope to finish and post the spin-off this week. Press that button down below to review and make me happy! <strong>


	40. Sparks

**AN: Thanks for all the lovely reviews on Delena's morning after! And of course a big hug and thank you to Shadowfaxangel for her continued support :D **

**On the smut-front: I know it took a while, but I finally got the M-rated version of chapter 38 – Seize the Night posted. So for those who'd like to check it out, you can find it under the title **_**Slowdancing In A Burning Room**_** (on my profile). Silly that this site doesn't allow me to add a link here, but I hope you'll enjoy it and let me know what you think!**

**And so, girls' night out at the Grill… Enjoy!**

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><p>When Elena entered the Grill on Saturday evening, Caroline and Bonnie were already seated near the pool table, a bottle of tequila and three shot glasses between them. As she walked up to them, she tried to suppress her goofy smile (the one that had been on her face the whole day, causing Jeremy to smirk at her knowingly and Jenna to look at her questioningly more than once), but she didn't fully succeed. So when she took a chair next to Bonnie, there was still a smile in her voice as she exclaimed, "Sorry I'm late, you guys!"<p>

Caroline looked up from pouring the tequila and lifted an eyebrow. "You are chipper tonight, Elena! Want to tell us about it?"

Elena just raised both her eyebrows at Caroline and shook her head. With an offhand gesture at the tequila, she asked, "What's the occasion?"

Caroline pursed her lips and Bonnie said under her breath to Elena, "Don't ask. She's had an argument with Matt, and with the dance contest coming up next week, she's a little upset. You know what that means when we're talking about Caroline."

Caroline huffed, "What? You know I'm a v-" She looked around and continued in a loud whisper, "You know what I am, right? So I can't help it if my emotions are heightened! I just need lots of booze and tons of sympathy, and I'll live - well, you know."

"I'm sorry, Care," Elena offered. "I'm sure Matt will come around in time."

"Oh, I'm sure he will," Caroline grumbled. "But in the meantime, here's to girl power!" She lifted a shot glass that was filled to the rim and threw the contents back. Then she slammed the glass on the table again, "Come on, ladies, drink up, and let's shoot some pool!"

Elena's face fell a little. "Oh, no! Don't tell me it's pool night!"

"Hey, you got to choose last time, and you picked lame charades for girl's night out! So now it's my turn, and I say we're shooting pool." Caroline said, sounding slightly annoyed at Elena's less than enthusiastic reaction.

"It's just that we always play pool when you choose the game, just like we always see the Notebook when you get to pick the movie. Don't you ever get bored with it?" Elena asked.

"Nope," Caroline shook her head. "The Notebook is a great movie, and I happen to like pool!"

"Well, yeah, because you always win!" Bonnie remarked drily.

"Duh," Caroline huffed, "Who wants to play games they can't win? Of course I want to win. And playing pool is the only way to make sure of that, since Elena 's so bad at it that she always loses anyway!" When Bonnie frowned at her, she added defensively, "And I say that with complete sensitivity!"

"Yes," Elena sighed, "Which is why I could have done far better things with my time than getting cheerfully thrashed by my best friend here."

"Come on, Elena. You can do without Stefan for one evening, and just enjoy a girl's night out!" Bonnie intervened.

"Stefan's not even in town," Caroline piped up, and then snapped her mouth shut at Elena's warning look.

But Bonnie had not been clued in on the recent developments, so she just frowned slightly and said, "Well, there you go. No hot dates lined up for you tonight!"

Right at that moment, Damon sauntered into the Grill. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he only had eyes for Elena. But he didn't join them. He walked to the bar and took up a seat there, next to Alaric, positioning his barstool so he could watch them.

Caroline was the one facing the door and the bar. With a sly look at Elena, she said under her breath, "Oh, I don't know about that."

Since Elena had her back to the door and to the bar, she hadn't noticed Damon come in, but almost instantly, as if she'd felt his presence, she started fidgeting and turned her head straight towards where Damon was sitting. A soft smile lit up her face before she caught herself and suppressed it, coyly averting her head again. Caroline pursed her lips thoughtfully.

Bonnie hadn't missed the exchange, and now she was looking askance from Elena to Caroline, "Is there something I should know?"

Elena gave Caroline a dirty look, "It's nothing. Caroline is just being… her usual, _sensitive_ self."

Caroline raised a disbelieving eyebrow at Elena, and Elena blushed. She grabbed her shot glass and downed the drink, coughing at the liquor burning her throat. Then she stood, and picked up the billiard cue. "Okay, so I'm going first! Loser's prerogative!"

But she was obviously flustered, because her first shot was even worse than usual. She frowned and passed the cue to Caroline, who shot her a knowing look and a smile before sashaying to the pool table to take her turn.

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><p>Keeping an eye on Elena, Damon made his way over to where Alaric was sitting at the bar, nursing the obligatory tumbler of bourbon and petulantly staring straight ahead. Before sitting down, he turned the chair, so he had an unobstructed view of the pool table and more importantly of Elena, and then he sat down with a good-humored slap on Alaric's shoulder, "Hello, Ricky! Fancy meeting you here!"<p>

"Damon. Don't even try to sound surprised. You knew very well you'd find me here," Alaric replied with a shrug.

"Oh, I don't know. You could have been at home with your cigar and slippers," Damon said, signaling the bartender that he wanted the same as Alaric.

"At home? What would I be doing in my cozy bachelor pad?" Alaric drawled sarcastically, not looking at Damon, "Drinking alone?"

"I hate to break it to you, buddy, but you are drinking alone," Damon replied, "Makes no difference that you're doing it in-" he looked around the crowded bar, and winced at the loud music, "-Mystic Falls' own version of the Bronze."

"No, no," Alaric waggled his finger under Damon's nose, making him realize that Alaric must have had more to drink than he'd thought, "That's where you're wrong. I'm drinking with you. You might be dead, but you're still company."

Damon shrugged, deciding it was a pointless discussion anyway, and inquired, "What has you so glum? Not that I really care, you understand, but all that doom and gloom is going to really ruin my mood!"

Alaric stared at the wall behind the bar with a frown, "It's Saturday evening, but Jenna had to work on her thesis. She's meeting her thesis advisor on Monday."

Damon gave him a compassionate look, "Oh, so you're just not getting any and it has you on edge? There used to be a lot of that going around."

Alaric looked at him questioningly, and narrowed his eyes when Damon's use of the past tense got through to him, "_Used_ to? Is that why you're so painfully cheerful tonight? You got laid?"

Damon replied with a wink, "Wouldn't you like to know? But gentlemen never kiss and tell…"

Alaric took a sip from his drink and his eyes drifted over to Elena. He did a double take when he caught her gazing longingly at Damon before she caught herself and turned away, and he almost bit his glass in surprise, "_Elena_? You're talking about…?"

Damon shook his head and interrupted him, "Ah ah! No way I'm getting on your couch, _Sigmund_, so don't even think about asking!"

Alaric raised his eyebrows and Damon hastily changed the subject, "I've been meaning to ask you, Ric. Have you got any more of those nifty vervain darts lying around? Preferably a lot of them?"

"Yeah, probably. Why?" Alaric's eyes lit up interestedly, the previous subject all but forgotten. In fact, he looked positively eager for something -anything really, to happen. "Are there any bloodsucking fiends around?"

Damon raised an eyebrow, and Alaric added with a crooked smile, "Present company excluded of course."

Damon smirked and Alaric prodded, "Seriously, are there any nasties around?"

"There might be. Just take care if you run into Stefan, okay?"

Alaric frowned, "_Stefan_? You mean your brother Stefan? Why?"

Damon sighed resignedly, "Long story short? Baby bro fell off the wagon again."

"Damon, you know I'm all for brevity and concise answers – heck, I wish my students got the gist of it as well as you obviously do -, but this is a little too short, even for someone with my powers of deduction!" Alaric said, sounding exasperated.

Damon pursed his lips, but explained anyway, "Stefan's decided to change his diet. No more cute bunnies and puppies with fluffy ears. So not what the doctor ordered, but you know Stefan. Once he goes down the people-road, there's no telling what he'll do."

Alaric's brow furrowed, "But why would he do that? What happened?"

Damon hesitated, and then answered, "Remember the dancing contest? Me and Elena dancing? That's where Stefan kind of got the idea that… um..."

When he looked in Elena's direction, he found her watching him from across the room. Their eyes locked and held, the ambient bar noises dimming, fading away to a background buzz, just like it had happened once before. He found he really wanted to go over there and kiss her, but she would probably take exception to that with her friends there.

He snapped out of it when Alaric, who'd been observing them, said musingly, "Hmm, by the looks of it, Stefan might have had the right idea."

When Damon just looked at him, Alaric continued, "So, what does Elena say about Stefan's unhealthy eating habits?"

Damon sighed. The whole situation would actually appeal to his sense of humor if it wasn't such a pain to be living it. For as long as he'd known Elena, he'd been unscrupulously trying to steal her away from Stefan. But now that he'd finally succeeded (well, sort of), he felt the obsessive need to tell her about Stefan's little problem. Which would undoubtedly send her on a guilt trip right back into Stefan's arms, and that left him exactly where he'd started. Nowhere.

He picked up his tumbler and tossed back the brown liquid in one go. Then he turned towards Alaric, and said intently, "She doesn't know, Ric. And that's how it has to stay for now. So don't you go spilling the beans!"

"Why not?" Alaric looked puzzled. "Don't you think she should know?"

Damon shook his head. He knew that it wasn't the smartest thing to do to keep this from Elena. Heck, the whole thing would no doubt come back to bite him in the ass sooner rather than later (and perhaps literally so), but he just couldn't help himself. Elena seemed so set on living in a bubble of sweetness and light this week, and frankly, that was incredibly appealing… It meant that he could keep her at least a little while longer, and if he could temporarily spare her some guilt by not telling her about this latest development, he was all for it. That's why he told Alaric emphatically, "_No_. It'll only hurt her and make her feel guilty."

Alaric looked doubtful, "But what if he comes after her? Isn't it safer for her to know?"

"I will tell her if it gets too dangerous, but I'm sure he's not going to hurt her," Damon shrugged. "I think he's mainly pissed at me for stealing his girl. Besides, he's not gone totally round the bend – believe me, I know what that looks like, and it's not pretty -, so I'm hoping he can still get it together again."

"What if he doesn't?"

"Then I'm chaining him up in the cellar until he's completed his twelve-step program!" Damon raked a hand through his hair, messing it up even more than it already was, and sighed, "God, what a mess! Things were so much easier when I didn't have a working sense of right and wrong. Trying to be good is _so_ much more tiresome than just being a self-serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities!"

Alaric quipped, "But you must admit that you're getting really good at being good, Damon!"

"Ha ha. That's not funny, Ric. I meant it, you know. I get why Stefan's choosing the easy way out. But he's not getting away with it: if he wants me to cry over Titanic and Bambi, he can damn well break out the tissues with me."

He paused and then finished fiercely, "He caught me by surprise last time, but he's not going to again. Next time, I'll vervain him so hard he'll be sweating the damn stuff!"

Alaric hesitated, and then said, "I still think you need to tell Elena. You know, forewarned is forearmed and all?"

Damon made a face, "Do you have to use those fusty old sayings? You're showing your age, Ricky, my man!"

"The name is _Ric_! And you're one to talk!" Alaric grumbled. "You're older than me by a century!"

"Well, _Ric_, at least I don't look my age!" Damon got up, but he did give Alaric a final warning, "Here's another fusty saying for you: discretion is the better part of valor. Don't tell Elena!" On that parting shot, he ambled off.

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><p><strong>AN: Well, I'll keep hanging on to my DamonRic bromance here, even though I'm a bit pissed off with Ric's anti-Damon attitude on the show (not that it deserved to get him killed, again). Hope you liked it, and the girls' night out. More next time… Please push that little button below and review! That's what makes me write after all!**


	41. Pool for Dummies

**AN: Thank you very, very much for all the lovely reviews on Sparks (the previous chapter of Shadowdancing), and also for the reviews on Slowdancing in a Burning Room, my attempt at writing a smutty spin-off! You made me really happy there, and maybe you've given me an incentive to try it again sometime ;) **

**Also, muchas gracias to Shadowfaxangel, beta extraordinaire! **

**And so we left Elena at the pool table… Enjoy!**

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><p>Half an hour into the game, Elena was steadily losing, Bonnie was holding her own and Caroline was winning, despite having been casually observing Elena maintain a long distance flirtation with Damon without trying to be too obvious about it. Bonnie might not have noticed too much out of the ordinary, but to a pro like Caroline, the writing on the wall was clearly legible. Elena was drinking too quickly and smiling a lot, casting smoldering sideways glances in the direction of the bar, twirling her hair; in short, Caroline almost got singed from the sparks that were flying at the Grill tonight!<p>

All the sexual tension in the air made her feel decidedly horny (well, she was that most of the time, if she was honest), which was very inconvenient now that she was having a row with Matt. Grumpily she upended the bottle of tequila and poured the last dregs of it in her glass, remarking to no one in particular, "Dammit! Looks like I'll have to go compel us another bottle."

Elena was only halfheartedly listening, but Bonnie looked at Caroline disapprovingly, and they got into another argument, bickering about the rights and wrongs of compelling people to let underage girls have strong liquor. Not surprisingly, Caroline won out in the end and went in search of a new bottle.

Elena was contemplating going over to the bar to talk to Damon, but when she snuck a peek in that direction, his barstool was empty. She craned her neck to see where he'd gone off to, only to feel him move in perilously close behind her, while a soft voice purred in her ear, "Hello, _Elena._ Why are you still hanging with Charlie's angels when you could be having so much more fun with me?" His voice slid over her senses almost like a tangible caress, and Elena felt a frisson of longing course through her body.

She turned her head slightly to look at Damon standing right behind her, and gave him a tiny, secret smile, whispering back, "You should be grateful to Caroline, Damon: after all, she's the one who told me to 'seize the day'!"

Damon chuckled softly and the sound made goose bumps rise on her skin, "Seize the day, _lover?_ I could have sworn you seized something else entirely last night. Several times, in fact."

Elena blushed and elbowed him in the ribs, "Hush, you. This has got to stay our little secret for now. I'm not telling Caroline and Bonnie until I've-"

"Until you've talked to Stefan. Yeah, yeah, I got that. So essentially we're going to be sneaking around behind everybody's backs?" He looked at her roguishly, "How positively _romantic_! It makes me feel very Romeo and Juliet!"

"Without the tragic ending, I hope, but that was kind of the idea, yes. Do you mind very much?" Elena whispered back apprehensively.

"Not really. As long as you don't expect me to serenade you below your balcony, that is!" He teased, "I just hope the excitement doesn't kill me."

Elena laughed, and they were still smiling into each other's eyes when Bonnie interrupted tersely, "Elena. It's your turn." She narrowed her eyes at Damon, who looked back blandly as Bonnie passed the cue to Elena. She accepted it with a sigh and walked to the pool table. Predictably, her next shot was no better than the ones before, and with a shrug, she handed the cue back to Caroline, who remarked with a wink, "Oh, heads up, Elena. Unlucky in games is lucky in love, as they say!"

Bonnie looked at Caroline suspiciously, and said, "I feel totally clueless here, and not for the first time tonight. What are you implying, Care?"

Caroline was lining up a shot. First she took aim and of course, hit the ball she was aiming at. As she straightened, she said blithely, "Oh, nothing at all. Just that Elena seems particularly unlucky at the pool table tonight. Even more so than usual. I guess that means she must be very lucky in love then?" Bonnie followed Caroline's gaze as it slid towards Damon, who'd wandered back to the bar to get his drink.

Elena opened her mouth to say something, though she didn't immediately know exactly what, but Bonnie beat her to it. She sounded quite irritated too, "You don't mean _Damon_? Come on, Caroline! The illicit booze must have addled your wits! Since when are you buying his regular bullshit towards Elena as something more? You know what he's like!"

Aggravated by Bonnie's cavalier dismissal, Caroline said petulantly, "Yes, Bonnie, I know all too well what he's like, but Elena's not me and he's-"

Bonnie interrupted her again, "No, indeed! On that score I'm happy Elena's not like you. You always could fall in love with a pretty face at the drop of a hat!"

"Glad to hear you think I'm pretty, Sabrina!" Damon had ambled closer again, and was now looking at Bonnie with a smirk. She scowled and ignored him by walking up to the pool table and snatching the cue from Caroline.

Damon just shrugged and leaned against the wall right next to Elena, not touching her, but close enough for the hairs on Elena's arms to rise in reaction to his nearness. He didn't look at her, but just said quietly, "Poor baby. Are you having a losing streak?"

Elena downed another shot and said insouciantly, "Not more so than usual. I honestly can't play pool to save my life. Never could."

Damon leaned closer and murmured, "You want some help with that? I happen to be very good at all sorts of games…"

"Mhmm, I noticed," Elena whispered brazenly.

Damon chuckled. He gestured to the pool table, and whispered back, "So. Would you like me to teach you?"

"I don't know," Elena pretended to think about that and then replied with a cheeky look from under her lashes, "I'm sure there's a lot you could teach me."

"Are we still talking about pool?" Damon asked with a sly grin, and when Elena gave him a saucy smirk in return, he drawled, "Elena, you minx, are you propositioning me? You definitely had too much to drink; you're going to have one hell of a headache in the morning!"

Suddenly Bonnie was standing next to Elena. She said meaningfully, "Elena, want to come along to the ladies'?" She turned in that direction as if a positive answer was a given.

It usually was, but this time Elena mulishly shook her head, knowing very well that she was facing a lecture, "No, thanks, Bonnie."

But Bonnie wouldn't take no for an answer: she just grasped Elena's hand and started towing her in the direction of the ladies' room. Caroline followed with a shrug and an admonishing remark to Damon to 'hold the fort for a minute'. Elena rolled her eyes: the lecture, it seemed, was inevitable.

"Elena, what do you think you are you doing?" Bonnie hissed, once they were inside and Elena was reclining nonchalantly against the yellow-and-brown stone wall.

Caroline and Bonnie had been rubbing wrong all evening, and now Caroline snorted, "That's a silly question, Bonnie. I'd say it's pretty obvious what she's doing."

Bonnie turned to Caroline, eyes wide, "But - but… it's Damon! What about Stefan? I know we're in a grey area here, ethics-wise, but at least he's sort of the good guy."

Elena sighed, "I know you don't like Damon, Bonnie, but what makes you suddenly such a cheerleader for Stefan's cause?"

Bonnie's mouth fell open. "What are you saying, Elena? Is this a _threesome_ now? You and the Salvatore brothers?" She sounded disbelieving.

Caroline looked as though she was seriously considering the idea, "Now that would be something indeed! A Salvatore Sandwich. Thanks, Bonnie, for giving me a mental picture that'll forever be stuck in my mind, and me already on edge! But since we're on the topic: did you sleep with him yet, Elena?"

"What? Caroline, she wouldn't!" Bonnie was adamant.

"Why wouldn't she? You missed some major developments, Bonnie, so-" Caroline replied.

"Caroline! We're talking about _Damon_!" Bonnie huffed, pronouncing the name as if it was something dirty.

"So? At this point, I'm thinking she could do a lot worse," Caroline said honestly.

"_She _is standing right here, you know," Elena remarked, irked by the way they were discussing her as if she wasn't even there. She turned on her heel and walked towards the door, saying over her shoulder, "But since you don't seem all that interested in my answers anyway, you figure it out. I'm out of here!"

Elena stalked back into the bar, making a beeline for Damon, who was still lounging by the pool table, sipping his drink. She picked up the cue, sent him a come-hither look and said suggestively, "Well, teacher? Ready to show me some tricks?"

If Damon was surprised by Elena's flirty behavior or the slightly brittle tone of her voice, he didn't let on. He walked around the table, and leaned in behind her as she bent over the table. When he put his hands over her hands on the cue to show her the right way to take the shot, she pushed herself back against him with an impish smile.

He looked at her in surprise and shot her a warning look, "If you keep this up, you're going to give the game away, Elena!"

"I'm not sure how much I care about that anymore," Elena whispered seductively and Damon couldn't help himself: he pressed a quick kiss to the corner of her mouth.

The ball rolled across the table and hit with a soft tic, and they smiled at each other. Neither noticed the dark shape hovering by the door on the other side of the bar, while trying to hide his face in the shadows…

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry, I know it was kinda short. Just some fluffy wordplay and teasing, but I hope you liked it! You know my muse likes your praise, so please push that review-button or find me on Twitter val_victrix !<strong>


	42. Breakfast in Bed

**AN: I'm so grateful to all my wonderful reviewers, also those I can't thank personally! So I'll thank you this way: all of you are so great! :D**

**Ik vind het ook heel tof dat er zoveel Nederlandstaligen dit verhaal schijnen te volgen! Da's gewoon fantastisch :D :D**

**And so: Happy Halloween everybody, and in particular my fangy friend Shadowfaxangel ;)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>The Gilbert residence was quiet and dark when an even darker shadow broke free from the surrounding trees and walked up to the house. No wonder, because it was the middle of the night; everybody would be sleeping. He looked at the sky, estimating from the position of the moon that it was somewhere around 3 am. And here he was, skulking around like a true creature of the night.<p>

He inhaled deeply, tasting the night air that was oddly soothing, and enjoying the soul deep silence that only the dead of night could bring. He loved the night, always had. It was a dangerous time, but exhilarating too. And in spite of all the sunscreen rings in the world, it was still a vampire's element. He looked up and saw Elena's open window. It didn't take too much of an effort to jump up there, and then he was pushing the curtains aside. Moonlight spilled into the room, faintly outlining the familiar contours of the bed and the girl lying on top of the covers, wearing a top and panties and nothing else.

He approached the bed, his presence revealed by nothing more than a slight stirring in the air. The girl twitched in her sleep, as if she felt him there, but her breathing didn't change. It was the slow, deep inhalation of profound sleep. He stalled, his eyes drinking her in.

She was so beautiful, so pure. His angel.

Slowly, very slowly so as not to disturb her, he extended a hand towards her face. His knuckle stroked her cheek, enjoying the velvety feeling of her skin under his finger.

Her breathing hitched, a slight frown flitting over her forehead, as if she was going to wake up.

But she didn't. And even if she had, there was no longer anybody there. The only movement was the curtains fluttering in the windless night.

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><p>Elena opened her eyes when sunlight falling through the open curtains tickled her nose. She squinted at the alarm clock. 8 am. She looked down at herself. Why was she still wearing yesterday's top?<p>

Then she remembered. The Grill. Playing pool with Damon. Bonnie and Caroline… Caroline had been cool with it, Bonnie not so much. All of it had been fun and games, until Bonnie had finally bundled Elena into Elena's own car and driven her home, claiming she'd had too much to drink and she'd better sleep it off. Okay, so maybe she'd been a bit tipsy, but she'd been nowhere near drunk!

And so she'd fully intended to sneak out again after Bonnie had left, and maybe head over to the boarding house for um… a nightcap? Yes, a nightcap had seemed like such a good idea!

But as soon as her head had hit the pillow, she'd fallen asleep. And that was that.

But now it was Sunday morning, and she had a legitimate excuse to visit Damon. As she'd been reminded again yesterday, the dancing contest was only a week away, so they absolutely needed to get some more practice in.

She stretched like a cat, and sprang from her bed. Despite her high alcohol intake from the night before, she felt pretty good. In fact, her restless energy was about to boil over. She skipped into the bathroom, sang in the shower (completely off key, but hey, who cared?) and then stood in front of her closet, pondering what to wear. It was probably best to be comfortable and not wear too many clothes, because the day promised to be hot again.

She picked a pair of very short jeans shorts and a red button-up top, and slipped her feet into a pair of flip-flops. Her dancing shoes in a little bag on her arm, she crept down the stairs, because she didn't feel like bumping into Jenna or Jeremy.

After fishing her car keys from the side table in the hallway (where Bonnie had left them), she silently stole out of the house. It was a lovely morning, but slight wisps of mist still floated just above the ground, dissipating gradually in the early sunshine. She paused to inhale deeply, and then bounced to her car as if she'd been taking lessons from Pooh's friend Tigger.

When she arrived at the boarding house, she wasn't all that surprised to find it still wreathed in quiet. Damon would probably still be in his bedroom. Stefan had always been the early riser of them both, as she'd noticed when she'd slept over. Hmm, maybe she could surprise him? She knew that if he was awake (and probably even if he wasn't), he'd be likely to hear her anyway, but she tried to be as quiet as possible, deliberately skipping that pesky third step of the stairs that always creaked on her way up.

The door to Damon's room was ajar (why would he close it? He was the only one in the house, after all), and she halted on the threshold: Damon was still sleeping, and he looked positively yummy…

She let her eyes wander over his still form, so unlike his usual energetic self, and marveled again at his near-inhuman beauty. He was sprawled on his stomach in the middle of the huge four poster bed, his arms wrapped around the pillow, the sheet only halfway covering his magnificent body. With his features relaxed in sleep, he looked angelically innocent, quite the opposite of the snarky, sarcastic expression that he usually sported when awake. Elena's feet took her closer to the bed.

She let her eyes dwell over his naked back, admiring the broad shoulders tapering down to a lean waist. Her eyes lingered on the dimples in the small of his back and unconsciously she extended her hand to touch them. Right before her fingers actually made contact with his skin, she hesitated, her eyes going back to his face. His eyes were still closed.

Damon kept his eyes shut and didn't move, not just out of fear of startling Elena, but also because at first he was simply too stunned by her presence in this room. Okay, so she'd said there would be no regrets, and yesterday evening at the bar she'd still seemed okay with 'them'. God, there might actually be a 'them' now. It was quite unreal for him still, that Elena might actually feel something for him that went beyond the Friends Only zone she'd been so determined to keep him in before.

She moved fractionally closer and her fingertips grazed his skin, her touch delicate as a butterfly's wings, a little hesitant as well, as if she too couldn't believe she was allowed to touch him like this. Her fingers dipped down, following the slope of his back until she reached the point where the sheet kept her from exploring any further.

She stalled, and he knew that she wouldn't take it any further, so he flopped onto his back, snaked an arm around her hips and pulled her down on him, in less time than it took for her to take the next breath. She gasped in surprise as she landed on his chest.

"Good morning, sweetheart! Can't get enough, can you?" He whispered deviously before capturing her lips with his.

Elena gave in to the kiss, her hands coming up to frame his face. When she came up for air again, she was smiling provocatively. "Can you blame me? I've been quite curious ever since Bree told me you were quite good in the… um…bedroom," she adapted the bartender's frank praise, recalling her saying that Damon was 'good in the sack'.

Damon smirked smugly, and Elena slithered off him, intending to stand up again. Not ready to let her go just yet, he flipped them over, so she was lying on her back, half trapped beneath him. He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply, and she felt his lips on her neck.

Elena gave a little yelp in surprise at the sudden change in positions, "Damon! What are you doing?"

He leaned on one elbow, and started undoing the little buttons of her top with the utmost concentration, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm unwrapping this prettily gift wrapped present that walked itself into my lair so early in the morning."

"We can't, Damon," Elena breathed, "You have to get up and-" But she didn't stop him.

Damon glanced down at himself with a self-mocking smile and whispered, "I _am_ up, Elena!"

When his fingers slipped into her open top to lightly caress her sun kissed skin, Elena's head sank into the pillow, protesting half-heartedly, "But we need to practice!"

"Oh, I agree. We need lots and lots of practice," he murmured, amusement clear in his voice. Then he lowered his head, his lips unerringly locating the sensitive hollow right below her ear and Elena's breath caught in her throat when he licked it, because it felt so good.

"Mmmh… You know that's not-" She turned her head to the side to give him better access, and he took full advantage, his nimble tongue tracing the shell of her ear. "-not what I… meant… exactly…"

His mouth moved down her throat, following the path of her wildly thrumming pulse down to her clavicle. She felt him smile against her skin and he said in a whisper, "Well, what did you mean exactly?"

"I meant-" Elena trailed off as his teeth lightly scraped across her shoulder, taking the strap of her bra with them.

She tried to get her wits together, "I meant… that… mmmm-" What she was going to say died in a sigh when he pulled the lacy cup of her bra down and flicked his thumb over the sensitive peak.

"Yes?" His tongue was now doing delicious things, and she gave up trying to form coherent thoughts.

"Oh, never mind," she moaned in reply, her hands gripping the covers as his mouth went further south, pausing to dip in her bellybutton and then continuing lower still. He unbuttoned her shorts, taking his sweet time to relentlessly explore every bit of exposed skin. She was thrashing on the sheets by the time he gave her what she wanted.

_Fade to black…_

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><p><em>Some time later…<em>

"I could definitely get used to a wake-up call like this," Damon remarked as Elena burrowed closer to him, her fingers drawing circular patterns on his bare chest.

"Mmm…" She murmured, nipping his ear with her teeth. "Damon, I'm hungry!"

"Again? Insatiable little thing, aren't you?" Damon replied with a teasing smile.

Elena's stomach growled, and they both laughed, "I meant food, Damon. It's a great pity, but I can't live on love alone. I need to get something to eat. All this early morning exercise has given me an appetite!"

"Now that you mention it. You are beginning to look very tasty to me, in a different way than you did before," He smirked and ran a finger down her throat, "How do you feel about breakfast in bed?"

"Damon! I'm not going to be your breakfast," Elena said, coloring slightly (because the thought did send a tingle down her spine), before sliding off the bed. "I'll bring you something to eat, shall I?"

He smiled as if he knew what she was thinking, and put his hands behind his head while she searched for her clothes. Then she just shrugged and grabbed his shirt that was hanging from the chair. She slipped into it and buttoned it partway, and then padded barefoot to the door and downstairs.

Damon just lay there, feeling crazily happy. Okay, so Elena hadn't told him she loved him yet, but all the signs were there. And the way she responded to him was just mind-blowing, beyond what he'd ever experienced. Absently he listened to her rummaging around in the kitchen, opening and closing the fridge, making coffee.

He tensed when he picked up the sound of the front door opening.

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><p><strong>AN: sorry for the fade to black, but you know this is still a T-rated story ;) At least you got lots of Delena this time :D Did you like it? Push the button, pretty please?<strong>


	43. All this dancin' around

**AN: ****Thank you so much to all of you who continue to send me your reviews on each chapter! And also to all of my new readers who brave over 40 chapters and send me a review to let me know they like my story! Love you, guys! Also, hugs and kisses to my beta Shadowfaxangel!**

**The title for this chapter is a song by the Belgian band Triggerfinger, just FYI. I had the title before I wrote the chapter, and though there isn't that much dancing going on, I still decided to keep it.**

**Now, I'm not totally happy with how this turned out, but it refused my attempts at rewriting, so I'm posting it like this. I hope you'll still like it a little!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Elena was making coffee, eating a banana and smiling in memory of Damon's idea of a morning work-out when she suddenly felt the presence of someone behind her. She spun around, almost dropping the tin can that contained the coffee.<p>

She exhaled in relief when she saw Caroline leaning against the kitchen counter.

Caroline was observing her with raised eyebrows, "Hmm, what do I spy with my little eye? Is that _Damon__'__s_ shirt? I guess that answers my question from last night."

Elena glanced down at herself. She hastily buttoned up the shirt all the way to cover her breasts, and tugged the hem down uncomfortably, "_Caroline_! This isn't what it looks like-" She trailed off.

At the sight of Caroline's eyebrows climbing almost to her hair, she shrugged self-consciously and said with an apologetic little smile, "No. You know what? You're right. This is exactly what it looks like. Although I did come here for a dancing lesson this morning. I guess we just got a little… um… sidetracked."

Caroline looked her over and remarked with a smirk, "A lesson, huh? You look like you took vamp sex 101 instead of dancing!"

When Elena colored slightly, Caroline tilted her head and inquired, "And? Did he rock your world?"

"Caroline!"

Caroline shrugged, "_What_? I do remember that his stamina is up to snuff. Besides," She quoted cheekily, "Once you go dead, there's no one better in bed, right?"

Elena shook her head laughingly, "Why are you asking me? Aren't you a vampire too?"

Caroline snorted, "Yeah. Matt sure is a lucky guy! If only he knew about it!" She pouted a little, "So I take it you're going to keep the smutty goodness all to yourself?"

Elena smiled mysteriously, and bit her banana with a saucy lift of one eyebrow, "Yup!"

Caroline turned around and made as if to leave the kitchen. She said over her shoulder, "Okay. I'll just go ask Damon then."

Elena dropped the banana on the kitchen counter and yelped, "You wouldn't dare!"

"Just kidding, Elena! Keep your pants on. Oh wait, too late for that, huh?" Caroline snickered at her own joke. Then she shook her head pensively, "You and Damon. Who'd have thought! I always figured you'd be too uptight to ever give in to him."

Elena was spared having to answer when the subject of their conversation strolled into the kitchen, wearing low-slung black jeans and nothing else. He ignored Caroline, but moved in behind Elena to wrap his arms around her and nuzzle her neck.

Elena tilted her head back and leaned into him, her eyes sliding closed as his breath tickled her ear. Caroline couldn't help but watch in rapt fascination. It was so strange to see Elena so accepting of Damon all of a sudden, when before she'd always stubbornly kept him at a distance. They actually looked very cute together.

Aware of Caroline's scrutiny, Damon looked up and drawled, "Enjoying the show, Barbie?"

Elena started, as if she'd completely forgotten about Caroline's presence (and she probably had, Caroline thought wryly).

Caroline said thoughtfully, "I'm just trying to wrap my head around the surreal weirdness of Damon and Elena PDA."

"You're not jealous, are you?" Damon inquired with a smirk.

"As if! Just make sure you keep treating her well, Damon!"

It almost sounded like a threat and Damon scowled, "Why are you still here, Blondie? In fact, why are you here at all? I don't recall asking you to the party."

Caroline shrugged, "I ran out of O neg, and I suddenly had a craving for it. I hope you don't mind me raiding your fridge?"

"In that case, get going to the basement. And close the door on your way out, will you? Elena and I have… things to do." He pulled Elena in closer, his hands slipping under her shirt.

Elena playfully jabbed her elbow in his ribs. "Damon, we're going to dance now!"

Damon looked innocent and raised an eyebrow, "Of course we're going to dance, Elena. What did you think I meant?"

She blushed and he chuckled, "Tsk. Naughty girl! Get your mind out of the gutter already!"

Elena giggled and turned around in his arms. Caroline walked out of the kitchen, a smile playing on her lips. They would be okay, she thought. She hadn't seen Elena so carefree and smiling since… well, since a long time. To think it would be Damon who could bring out the fun side of Elena again. Although admittedly, she had always thought that Stefan was too serious for Elena anyway.

In the kitchen, Damon tipped up Elena's face, bent his head and kissed her unhurriedly, a slow, deep kiss that made Elena's toes curl. She leaned into him for a few moments, and then brought her hands up to his chest to push him away. Her breathing was slightly irregular when she said, "We were going to dance, Damon, remember?"

Damon tried to pull her back into his arms, but when Elena turned her head to the side, his lips landed on her ear and he said sulkily, "Do we have to? Can't we just do the mattress mambo instead?"

"Now whose mind is in the gutter?" Elena slapped him playfully on his arm, "Yes, we have to. You just said so yourself!"

He pouted, "I know what I said, but that was for Caroline's benefit. You're saying that you actually mean it?"

"Absolutely. Here," She handed him a blood bag from the fridge. "You have some breakfast while I get dressed."

"You _are_ dressed," Damon eyed her bare legs with appreciation, and waggled his eyebrows, "That's a very good look for you."

Elena was determined not to give in this time, "You bet. But you know we'll never get any dancing done if I don't put on anything more than your shirt, right?"

Damon smirked shamelessly, "Yeah, but that was sort of the idea…"

"Damon!" Elena said in that tone that only she could pull off, something in between exasperated and amused. She slipped from his arms and hurried out of the kitchen, unable to suppress the huge smile on her face as she ran upstairs.

Damon walked into the parlor, sipping his breakfast of bourbon laced blood (it was the same O neg Caroline had been craving earlier), and wondered when he'd hear something from Liz. He'd asked her yesterday to look into recent police reports and hospital data, checking for neck trauma or loss of blood, or even victims of 'animal attacks'. He'd told her he'd heard some rumors and just wanted to check them out in case it was vampires (or one particular vampire, but he didn't tell her so of course). She should have come up with something by now.

He looked so lost in thought that he didn't even seem to hear Elena walk back into the parlor, again dressed in her jeans shorts and red top. She smiled, snuck behind his back and whispered, "Boo!"

She had the satisfaction of seeing Damon jump. In the same movement, he whirled around and had her up against the wall before she could blink.

Elena yelped, her eyes turning big as saucers in surprise when she felt his body pressed flush against her, pinning her against the wall. He rocked his hips just a little, making her gasp and close her eyes for a second.

But when she opened her eyes, she saw the Cheshire cat smile on his lips. Immediately, she started pushing at him, her hands on his chest, and protested, "Damon, put me down! Dance, remember?"

"Fine, fine," He grumbled, letting her slide down his body until her feet were on the ground once more. She swallowed, and he suppressed a triumphant smile as he walked to the stereo. Maybe something could be done after all.

As he extended a hand towards Elena, there was a wicked gleam in his eyes. When she walked into his arms, he pulled her to him abruptly, almost making her lose her footing. She laughed, and he dipped her back over his arm, grinding his pelvis into hers as he pulled her back up. She didn't laugh after that, but her eyes were positively glowing in defiance.

The dancing turned into a battle of wills as both of them tried to sneak in as much underhanded teasing and touching as they could, trying to unsettle the other. Elena walked past Damon, her nails delicately gliding over the smooth muscles of his bare back, making him hold his breath. Damon twirled her, and his fingertips slid down the soft skin of her thigh as if by chance, causing goose bumps to break out all over her body. Elena turned back to look at him, and she was running the tip of her tongue over her lips. Damon retaliated by doing his eye-thing as he slowly dragged her closer to him.

Elena was fast losing her breath, and it wasn't just the up-tempo rhythm of the music. He was deliberately getting her worked up, and boy, was it working! She was just considering what more she could do to make him as hot as he did her when his phone started buzzing.

He paused to fish it out of the pocket of his pants and check the caller ID. Mystic Falls PD. Dammit, now was not a good time with Elena here, but it wasn't like he had much choice in the matter. He had to take the call. He flipped the phone open and said, "Yes?"

It was Liz, and she'd done a thorough job. He grabbed a piece of paper and jotted some names down with a frown. He'd be busy for a couple of days if he wanted to follow all the trails before they got cold. But the last lead was very fresh.

Elena watched Damon scowl as he listened intently to whoever was talking. From his facial expression, it was obviously not good news. Walking up behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head into his back, silently offering comfort. As soon as he felt her arms sliding around him, his hand slid over hers in a strangely soothing gesture and he said tersely, "Okay, Liz. Thanks for letting me know. I'll look into it as soon as possible."

He closed the phone with a click, ending the phone conversation abruptly. When he didn't say anything for a few moments, Elena asked quietly, "What is it?"

Damon turned around, drawing her in close against him, her head against his shoulder to avoid looking at her when he said, "I have to leave town for a few days on Council business, Elena."

Elena stiffened, and looked up at him suspiciously, "What? What sort of council business?"

"Just something that needs urgent looking into," Damon didn't want to say too much, didn't want her to guess he might be going after Stefan. Okay, so she had no reason to think that, not knowing what had happened at the salsa bar a few days before, but she was always too cunning when it came to guessing what he was trying to hide.

Elena was frowning, but it was for another reason entirely. The thought of Stefan never even entered her head. She just didn't like the thought of Damon possibly getting himself in a dangerous situation; he could be so impulsive and reckless sometimes. She asked apprehensively, "When are you leaving?"

"As soon as I get packed, I guess," He paused, interpreting her frown differently, "Not to worry, I'll be back in time for the contest."

Elena looked startled, as if the contest was the farthest thing on her mind, but now that he'd brought it up, she had another reason to be nervous.

"But, Damon, when are we going to practice if you're going away? We'll never be ready!" She heard the panicked edge to her voice and tried to calm down her breathing. "Can't you do this council business after the contest?"

I wish I didn't have to do it at all, Damon thought. He brushed Elena's hair from her face and laced his fingers through the soft strands, enjoying the feeling of their silky texture running through his fingers. In a gentle voice he said, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I can't. The trail is getting cold as we speak. But don't worry about the contest. You are more than ready to kick some competitor ass!"

Elena bit her lip uncertainly.

Damon cupped her face in his hands and added, "Come on, Elena! You've faced down vampires and werewolves and all kinds of danger, but a little dance contest makes you turn green? Look on the bright side: at least the jury won't try to eat you!"

She smiled slightly, but still didn't look convinced.

He gave her a teasing little smile, "You know what they always say you should do when you're nervous, right? Just picture everyone without their clothes on and you'll be fine!"

Elena finally huffed a reluctant laugh, "Hmm. Picture everyone without their clothes on?"

She paused and ran her hand down his bare chest, "You mean I have to picture you naked too?"

Damon laughed, "You can picture me naked anytime. At least now you'll be able to picture me very accurately." He winked suggestively.

Elena was surprised that she could still blush after everything that had already happened between them. She just couldn't help it: when he looked at her like that, his eyes promising all kinds of deliciously naughty things, heat started curling in her belly. It hadn't lessened; rather the opposite, because she now knew how good he could make her feel.

"If you keep looking at me like that, _lover_, I won't be able to keep my hands off you for long," Damon's voice was low and sultry, and Elena shivered.

In the end, he left a lot later than he'd planned.

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><p><strong>AN: First off, Caroline's quote (Once you go dead, there's no one better in bed) is by Jeaniene Frost, author of One foot in the grave. <strong>

**So, I know that nearly everybody thought Stefan was back. Hope this wasn't too much of a disappointment in that case. Rest assured, he _will_ be back soon.**

**You know how much I LOVE your reviews, right?**


	44. The Color of Midnight

**AN: I know I say this every time, but thank you so much for all the amazing reviews! Getting reviews truly never gets old! And you really blew me away on the last chapter :D Thanks also to Shadowfaxangel, beta extraordinaire! **

**While I'm sad that the show is once again on hiatus, it might give me some more time to write for you guys, and finish this story before too long. The dancing contest is coming very, very soon ;) ****This is a kind of a transitionary chapter, but it needs to happen... and you finally get to see the dress. I hope you'll like it! **

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Two days after Damon had left, Elena was already fervently wishing for his return. Not just for the obvious reasons either. Two days after he'd left was when the strange things started happening.<p>

The first thing… she hadn't really noticed that at first. But when she did, she started thinking that she was going crazy. Every morning when she woke up, her window was wide open, the curtains fluttering in the breeze. She thought she'd closed it, but it wasn't like she'd never forgotten anything like that before, so she shrugged it off. Only that night, she made certain to close it firmly and double check. When she woke the next morning to sunlight playing over her face, the window was open again.

Then she discovered that some of her underwear was missing, a pair of silky, shell pink boy shorts and a matching bra. She searched through her underwear drawer twice and then she upended the laundry basket to check that as well. They were nowhere to be found. Was it a coincidence that they had been Stefan's favorite pair?

She didn't say anything to Damon when he called to check up on her.

On Thursday evening she walked into her room and froze on the threshold. Her bed was strewn with ruby red rose petals, scattered over the duvet like drops of spilled blood. She stood there aghast for a full minute, staring at the display that should be romantic, but somehow it felt off. Her eyes strayed to the nightstand: the little vase that had contained Damon's two roses only held one rose now. A frisson raced over her back, and she hurriedly wiped all the rose petals off her bed.

When Damon called her again on Thursday night, she almost asked him to come back at once. Almost. But then he said that he was almost finished and he'd be back the next day, well in time for the contest on Friday night. So she swallowed her question. She wasn't a baby, after all. She could take care of herself.

Still, she hid a stake under her pillow and tucked a vervain-filled syringe in her purse. Just in case.

She slept fitfully that night, only to wake up when the first fingers of dawn carefully crept across the night sky, with the certainty that someone was in the room with her. When she flicked on the light, there was nobody there, but the window was open _again_. Her mouth went dry and she jumped out of the bed to slam it shut, shivering more than the temperature warranted.

As she was huddling under her duvet afterwards, wide awake and clutching the stake in one trembling hand, her eyes fell suddenly on the little vase on her nightstand. It now held two roses again, Damon's velvety red one, and a yellow rose.

Yellow. Wasn't that the color of jealousy?

In a burst of anger, she grabbed for the rose, pulling it out of the vase with the intention to throw it away. But when her fingers closed around the stem, she dropped the flower with a squeak. The pretty yellow rose sported long, prickly thorns that hadn't been removed. A little pinprick of blood appeared on her middle finger, and she quickly stuck the finger in her mouth, sucking away the blood. The metallic taste of her own blood almost made her gag. Then she carefully picked up the yellow rose by one of its leaves, and threw it towards the bin.

Thank God for Damon's return today. Because there was only one explanation: Stefan was back, and he didn't seem too happy.

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><p>On Friday morning, Damon drove his blue Camaro rather wildly up the driveway to the Boarding house. Gravel sprayed when he slammed the brakes. The car skidded to a stop, but he didn't get out immediately. He just sat there, motionless, staring at nothing in particular. In a sudden burst of movement, he smashed his hand down on the steering wheel (not too hard though; he might be frustrated, but he wasn't about to damage his baby beyond repair).<p>

'Dammit, Stefan,' he thought for the nth time, his anger rising dangerously close to the surface. 'Where are you hiding?'

He had been racing all across the neighboring counties, checking out all the leads he'd had from Liz. While he was sure he was indeed following Stefan's trail, it had been nothing more than a silly wild goose chase. Stefan had proven to be quite a proficient goose too, always staying one elusive step ahead of him. Five days and nothing to show for it. To top it off, he was ravenously hungry (he'd run out of blood, because he had honestly not planned to be gone so long) and thoroughly pissed that all his efforts had come to naught.

But at least he was back now, and his heart lightened considerably at the thought of seeing Elena again tonight. Come to think of it, he had another present to deliver.

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><p>When Elena came home from school, she raced up the stairs to her room immediately. She'd received a text from Damon, telling her that he was back (not a moment too soon) and that he'd left her a little present in her room. Of course he had to send that text during first period, so she'd be on tenterhooks all day.<p>

When she barged into her room, she had a slight sense of déjà vu, because there was a cardboard box on the bed, another ruby red rose tucked into the ribbon. She refused to think of the yellow rose that had withered and died in her dustbin. Instead, she hurried to the bed to untie the ribbon and lift the lid off the box.

Just like the last time, she found a dress, hidden in a nest of crackling tissue paper. It was black as midnight, made of some kind of velvety fabric, and strewn with tiny glittering stones, as if it had been sprinkled with fairy dust. There were also two combs for her hair, set with bigger sparkling stones. Elena fell in love with it instantly.

When she grabbed her phone to call Damon, it started buzzing, and Damon's name came up on the display, as if she'd conjured his attention just by thinking of him. She picked up the phone and cooed with a smile, "Honey, you're home! And you brought me a present!"

Damon chuckled, amused, "You like it?"

"Oh, yes! It's perfect! Simply divine!" She exclaimed, fingering the soft material of the dress. "What are you going to wear? We'll be color coordinated, I hope?"

"You'll just have to wait and see! I'll tell you just one thing: at least my shirt will be Elena-proof this time!"

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><p>The contest would be held outside the Lockwood Mansion, the venue of most Mystic Falls events. The garden looked beautiful in the falling dusk; and soon it would be romantically lit by countless paper lanterns in many shapes and hues that were scattered throughout the trees. A big dance floor had been laid out on the lawn, and next to it was a raised dais that held some chairs for the musicians; two men were already there, tuning their instruments. When Elena arrived with Jenna and Jeremy, she passed right by them, and she thought she recognized some of the musicians from the salsa café she'd visited with Damon, Caroline and Matt.<p>

Alaric was already there, his hair sticking on end, and looking hounded as he ran around with a clipboard and fussed with the numbers that would be worn by the men. Jenna headed over to him immediately, and Elena made for the house, toting her dress in a garment bag over her shoulder and her shoes in another bag over her arm.

A few of the upstairs bedrooms had been converted into dressing rooms. When Elena walked inside to change, she thought back to the last time she'd been up here, for the Miss Mystic Pageant. They were bittersweet memories, of her first dance with Damon that had forged a solid connection between them, but also of Stefan's lapse into bloodlust. How different it would be this time, with Damon as her chosen dance partner and Stefan not even present!

Elena slipped into her dress, taking care not to mess up her hairdo. Jenna had helped her to style it, almost frying her hair with the curling iron in the process. The curls had been swept upward, and fixed with the combs, leaving her long neck tantalizingly bare. One single curl had been left out of the pinned up mass to frame her face.

She stepped in front of the mirror. The dress was lovely. The dark color complemented her olive skin to perfection, and the shimmering little stones caught the light, relieving the stark black of the dress and giving off sparks when she moved, almost as if the fabric was dotted with tiny twinkling stars. The neckline was heart shaped and plunged very deep, revealing the tops of her breasts and hinting at the valley between them. It was held up by a halter that tied at the back of her neck.

She turned, craning her neck to look over her shoulder and blushed a little. Wearing a bra underneath was out of the question: there was no back to the dress whatsoever and it dipped very low, baring her back as far as the curve of her bottom, where the skirt flared out. There was just a little bit of skirt in front, but it was longer in the back, not quite reaching the back of her knees. The dress fit her body like a glove, the stretchy fabric accentuating her curvy figure – trust Damon to know her measurements better than she knew them herself!

She was just putting on her dancing shoes when Caroline walked into the dressing room. Her hair was a mass of little curls, bouncing loosely about her face, and she was wearing a fiery red bustier-style dress held up by threads crisscrossing her back and a short, multilayered skirt. And matching red shoes, of course. Caroline was nothing if not thorough when it came to color-coordinating.

"You look lovely, Care," Elena said honestly, admiring her friend's flamboyant outfit.

Caroline twirled around and smiled as she sat down in front of the mirror to put the final touches on her make-up. "You look gorgeous too, Elena. I guess I should compliment Damon on his excellent taste," she commented with a teasing smile, "Trust him to pick a dress that will fall straight off your body when you pull just the one ribbon!"

Elena ignored her little jibe. She was ready by now, having checked her lipstick and mascara, and the nerves struck with a vengeance. She suddenly realized that she and Damon hadn't danced in almost a week! Horrific images started dancing through her mind, of her falling on her face on these shoes, of forgetting the steps…

"Elena! Stop with the pacing already! You're making my head spin," Caroline commented, watching Elena in the mirror as she rummaged through her bag for her lipstick.

"I'm nervous, Caroline. I can't help it!" Elena replied, hearing the tremor in her own voice that was a sure sign of her inner turmoil. "My body's as tense as-"

"Why didn't you get rid of that tension before coming here?" Caroline interrupted, pursing her lips to apply her lipstick.

"Huh?" Elena stopped wearing out the carpet long enough to cast an inquiring glance at her friend.

"S-e-x, Elena! How long has it been since you did the bump and grind with Damon?" Caroline wiped the excess lipstick on a tissue and critically regarded herself in the mirror.

Elena rolled her eyes at Caroline's back, "You really have a one-track mind, Care!"

"Hello? Teenager here. This pretty exterior-" Caroline indicated her body with a flick of her hand, "-is just a façade for something that's essentially a raging sea of hormones!" She cautiously applied another layer of mascara.

Elena snorted, "Well, I think my sex life is none of your business!"

"Oh, it so is my business if you're gonna make me all nervous with your pacing. I'll have you know that I was completely Zen when I got here, all my chakra's aligned, or whatever they call it, and now you're messing them up!"

"You and Matt made up, then? Good for you!" Elena said, glad to get Caroline off her own case.

But she'd forgotten how persistent Caroline could be, "Oh, yes! Nothing like hot make-up sex after a good fight. You should try it sometime!"

Elena was saved from receiving any more of Caroline's wisdom by Carol Lockwood, who'd walked into the dressing room, and was now looking at Caroline with a frown. She'd probably overheard Caroline's last statement, but she wisely didn't comment on it. She made a shooing motion with her hand and said, "Come on, girls! Don't dawdle. The others are waiting. We're about to start. Your dance partners are already downstairs, but we're going to let you come down from up here. I think it's prettier that way. When I call your name, you walk down the stairs, and your partner will lead you out onto the floor, okay?"

Caroline and Elena nodded and joined the rest of the women at the top of the stairs. Elena recognized some other girls from their school and some outsiders. All in all there were about 20 women milling about at the top of the stairs. One by one the names were called, and they went downstairs, all of them teetering dangerously on high heels.

When Carol Lockwood said "Miss Forbes and Mr. Donovan", Elena told Caroline sincerely, "Good luck, Carebear!" and Caroline gave her a thumbs up in return, carefully going down to a waiting Matt.

And finally it was Elena's turn. She wasn't just nervous for the contest, but also because she hadn't seen Damon for five days now. Would everything still feel the same? Would he look at her as he'd done last week? She squared her shoulders and walked to the top of the stairs. Only one way to find out.

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><p><strong>AN: Well, the contest is about to start. And no, no Stefan (yet). I hope that didn't disappoint too much ;) There was some blunt Caroline though. I'd love it if you pushed that button that says 'review this chapter'...<strong>


	45. Catch and Release

**AN: First of all, I really want to thank all my amazing reviewers, also the anonymous ones I cannot thank in person. Thank you so very, very much! You totally overwhelmed me last chapter, and I loved it :D You should know that you're keeping this story alive! Thank you too, Shadowfaxangel, for your wonderful comments! **

**So, the dancing contest… finally! I admit that I took some poetic liberty with their dancing, mixing moves from salsa with other Latin dances. I'm guessing that you guys prefer sexy times with Damon and Elena over technically correct salsa. I know I do ;) So I hope you'll like this *bites nails anxiously***

**Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Previously on Shadowdancing:<em>

Finally it was Elena's turn. She wasn't just nervous for the contest, but also because she hadn't seen Damon for five days now. Would everything still feel the same? Would he look at her as he'd done last week? She squared her shoulders and walked to the top of the stairs. Only one way to find out...

When the mayor called out the last names on her list, "Miss Gilbert and Mr. Salvatore", Elena gripped the banister tightly, descending gingerly on her high heels. She rounded the curve of the stairs and her eyes alighted on Damon immediately, standing at the bottom step. The only thing she really saw were his eyes, a glittering cobalt blue, never wavering from her face as he stood looking up at her solemnly.

Suddenly one corner of his lips quirked up in that sexy half smile that always made her knees weak. It immediately dispelled all her fears that anything might have changed between them, and she returned it with a broader smile of her own. Only then did his eyes drift down to take in her dress, and when he extended his arm so she could put her hand on it, there was open admiration in his gaze.

"You look absolutely stunning, Miss Gilbert," He murmured, as he made her a courteous little bow. His voice was a little deeper than usual, as if it was fraught with some emotion she couldn't immediately put a name to.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Mr. Salvatore," She whispered back with a wink, taking in his scandalously tight black pants and closefitting silk shirt as she came down the last steps.

She smiled when she saw that the black shirt didn't have any buttons. The deep V left a wide expanse of his porcelain skin bare, displaying the rippling muscles of his chest. It was tucked into a broad black sash that was tied around his waist and dusted with the same sparkling fairy powder as her dress. The sash, the casually rolled up shirtsleeves and his ruffled hair that fell rakishly over his forehead gave him the appearance of a dashing pirate out on the town. Elena closed her mouth before she drooled all over him.

"Hmm, I see what you mean by 'Elena-proof'," Elena said under her breath as she placed her hand on his arm, feeling familiar, cool skin under her fingers. "A button-less shirt? Wise move!"

'Isn't it? You've ruined quite a few of my favorite shirts, so I figured I'd spare you any further need to rip into them, should you feel a little frisky later," he replied, his mouth close to her ear. She shivered when his soft breath tickled the bare skin of her neck.

They walked onto the terrace, and joined the couples spread out on the dance floor, listening as Mrs. Lockwood welcomed everyone, and then presented the jury. It consisted of herself as the president (of course! She'd never pass up on an opportunity to stand in the spotlight, Elena thought), a smiling couple who were the reigning regional Latin champions, and finally… Elena started when her eyes fell on the petite, curvaceous figure of Carmencita.

The Latin dancer was garbed much like the last time, during their dancing lesson in town, in a mini skirt and a halter-top, and wearing impossibly high heels. She was smiling broadly, and blatantly ogling Damon. Elena's grip on Damon's arm tightened a little, and only when he looked down at her with a question in his eyes, did she realize that her nails were digging into his skin, leaving half-moon imprints that vanished as soon as she raised her hand.

"Everything all right?" He mouthed, watching her intently.

"Just nerves," She replied, and he put his other hand reassuringly on top of hers, his thumb massaging her palm in lazy circles.

"Remember what I told you? Just imagine the jury without any clothes," He cast a sideways glance at the four members of the jury, and frowned, "On second thought, scratch that. Just picture me naked and you'll do fine!"

Elena half turned to curiously look at the jury again. That was when she saw the gorgeous guy who was the regional Latin champion. He was candidly examining the scantily dressed women on the dance floor, and she smiled in amusement at Damon's sudden change of heart (he wasn't jealous, surely?), thereby drawing the man's gaze. He noticed her looking at him and boldly raked his eyes over her figure, sending her an appreciative smile. Elena felt Damon stiffen next to her, his arm under her fingers going rock hard as his muscles tensed, and a menacing growl rumbled deep in his chest.

Damon already regretted directing Elena's attention to the jury. That posturing douche-bag better watch out where he put his eyes! Okay, so he'd gifted Elena with a rather daring dress, but that didn't mean that pompous asshat had the right to mentally strip her even of that barely there garment! Reflexively he pulled her in closer, one hand sliding behind her to rest on the velvety skin at the small of her back.

Elena was all too aware of his hand caressing her naked back, and she turned towards him, her warm hand making contact with his bare chest. For a second she was lost in contemplating the contrast of her olive skin against his pale one, transfixed by the temperature difference between them as her body heat was absorbed by his cool flesh.

But when she looked up to meet his eyes, his gaze was hot and possessive, almost melting her into a puddle on the floor. She swallowed under his intense look: the heat in his eyes was almost tangible, a warm glow that nevertheless made her break out in goose bumps.

Damon fought the urge to drag Elena away from the dance floor and into the first room he could find that had a lock on the door to keep everyone out. He hadn't realized that it'd be this hard to keep himself under control after five days of not seeing Elena, not touching Elena… Well, sparks would most definitely be flying once they got dancing! He forced his attention back to the stage, and sent the country oaf that had dared to ogle Elena in such a lewd manner a scathing look.

Carol had passed the microphone to Carmencita, who was explaining the contest rules in her lilting, accented English. The participants would all start dancing at once, and the jury would walk around and observe. After a while they would start eliminating couples from the contest, while the others kept dancing. The couple that was still dancing in the end would be the winner, and would be invited to attend the regional finals for professional dancers in the fall and get a year's free access to a salsa club of their choice.

"And remember," she ended her little speech, a lascivious note entering her throaty voice, "This is a Latin dance, which means that it is all about the sex. So please, use your bodies and this wonderful music to the best of your ability to make us enjoy the show!"

Carol scowled and bent sideways to whisper something in Carmencita's ear that was probably something along the lines of that last statement being totally inappropriate, because many of the participants were still minors. Carmencita just shrugged it off in a very Latin gesture of indifference, and Elena found herself liking the salsa teacher for her outspoken candor (only a very little bit, mind!).

The audience had gathered around the dance floor by now, and Elena spotted Jenna and Ric, standing right at the edge of the floor, together with Jeremy and Bonnie. She smiled at them, and Jenna raised her two thumbs to wish her luck.

Damon then turned Elena with her back to him, and locked one arm around her waist, pulling her pliant body flush against his own. She leaned her head back, and tried to relax her tense muscles as he guided her free arm slowly upwards so her hand was behind his neck.

Damon's lips brushed the shell of her ear, easily accessible with her hair up like that, and he whispered, "You'll do fine, Elena. Trust me. We're going to win this thing!" He paused and added drily, "Otherwise I can always just eat the jury!"

Elena's lips curled in a little smile. Damon always knew how to make her feel less stressed out. On her heels, she was almost of a height with him, and she turned her head to rub her cheek against his jaw, inhaling the mix of expensive cologne and Damon's own spicy scent.

Then the music started and the on looking crowd fell silent.

Only a single musician was playing at first, a mesmerizing, haunting melody that wove its magic around the couples on the dance floor, their movements slow and sensual in response to the compelling tune. Damon slid his fingertips down Elena's raised arm, and further down the side of her breast, and Elena exhaled slowly, feeling his languid touch settle in her bones.

Then his hands settled on her waist in a firm grip, guiding her hips into slow gyrations, moving his own in sync with her for a few beats. She slowly sank down, bending her knees, rotating her bottom so she was almost but not quite touching his pants. She put her hands behind her, splaying her fingers on his thighs as she slid them downwards.

As she slowly rose up again, her hands were rubbing the fabric snugly spanning his thighs. He raised her arms in the air and slowly spun her around, turning her to face him, and their eyes locked. Her nerves were completely gone at that point, and she lost herself in the dance as more musicians started playing and the music was swelling in intensity.

"My God, what is she doing out there?" Jenna whispered furiously to Alaric who was standing next to her. Both of them had their eyes glued to just one couple on the dance floor.

"She's dancing, Jenna. You know, when people move their bodies to the music?" Ric answered with a wry smile. He hadn't needed more than a look at the body language between Damon and Elena to know that he'd been right when he'd guessed that they knew each other in the Biblical sense, so why wouldn't Jenna pick up on it?

Jenna rolled her eyes, without taking them off the dance floor. "No need to be sarcastic, Ric. You've definitely been spending too much time around Damon. You're beginning to sound like him," she huffed. "Besides, thatisn't dancing. That's-" She hesitated, looking for a strong enough word, "It's making out in public! When did they get so cozy? In fact, why is she doing this with Damon of all people?"

Ric sighed, silently cursing Elena for not clueing her aunt in on her change in romantic interests. He didn't feel like explaining the new couple dynamics in the strange relation that Elena had with the Salvatore brothers, so he just said, "Stefan didn't feel like it, I guess."

"So of course Damon is game for it," Jenna scowled. "God, he's all over her! He's worse than a rash!"

"Fair's fair, Jen. She's all over him too!" Alaric felt like he owed it to Damon to defend his friend, though the lord knew why he would want to. Damon could take care of himself, after all. His eyes returned to the dance floor as the drums joined in and the rhythm changed, suddenly picking up speed and whipping the dancers into a frenzy.

Complying with the tempo change in the music, Damon took a firm hold on Elena's hand and twirled her faster. Her skirt flared out to brush his legs and she laughed, pure joy coursing through her veins with her heated blood.

Elena was very aware of Damon, of his body, more than she ever had been before, following his directions almost intuitively, as if she knew what he intended to do before he adroitly steered her into a spin, a turn, a dip. When a full turn forced her to break eye contact with him, she immediately sought it again afterwards, her eyes like iron filing drawn by his magnetic gaze, to the exclusion of all else.

They danced like they had just one mind, smoothly and effortlessly gliding from one movement into the other, their bodies completely attuned to one another.

The members of the jury slowly circled the dance floor, attentively observing the dancing couples. When all of them had made a full circuit around the floor, they came together and whispered for a few moments, agreeing on the couples they would remove from the contest. They quickly agreed, and Carmencita elegantly weaved her way through the dancers to carefully tap five men on the shoulder. They stopped dancing and left the floor. Then the jury started on another round.

Caroline and Matt were dancing next to Damon and Elena, and Caroline smiled to Matt as she noticed they were still on the floor. Yay! They'd survived the first elimination! She concentrated on swaying her hips and on guiding Matt through one of the more complex moves that they had practiced last week. Her poor baby was having a little trouble following, but it was a good thing that Caroline didn't mind taking the lead (and not just on the dance floor, she added with a mental chuckle). When she stole a quick glance at Damon and Elena next to her, she couldn't help grinning. They wouldn't be able to hide their newfound intimacy after this...

Her eyes strayed to Carmencita, who was observing them with a tiny furrow between her brows, as if she too noticed something different there. Or perhaps she just wanted to dance with Damon herself, Caroline thought gleefully. Instead she was stuck here as a jury member, forced to observe rather than participate in something she obviously loved. Her benevolent feelings towards the salsa teacher evaporated quickly as the woman turned her sharp-eyed gaze on her and Matt. Caroline forgot all about Damon and Elena, trying her best to keep them in the contest just a little longer.

The second round was soon finished, and again the jury conferred, selecting five more couples that were asked to abandon the contest. Elena and Damon didn't pay these proceedings any attention at all, wrapped up as they were in each other.

Elena's face was radiant as Damon spun her out in a flurry of fast movement. It felt so incredibly good to be dancing like this with the man you loved. She resolved then and there to tell Damon she loved him as soon as possible, whether or not she had talked to Stefan first. It wasn't fair to keep him hanging like this, especially when she was in absolutely no doubt about her own feelings anymore! Now if only he felt the same…

When Elena looked at him with the certainty of her new resolution in her mind, Damon had the indefinable feeling that something had changed between them. Granted, he hadn't seen her for a few days, but if anything, she seemed even more susceptible to him than she had before. Perhaps it was that absence makes the heart grow fonder? Because her eyes were shining with something he didn't dare put a name to.

He felt suddenly lightheaded, almost as if he was drunk on her presence alone (because he sure as hell hadn't been drinking!). It was a balmy night, and Elena was starting to sweat with the exertion, a fine sheen of perspiration appearing on her forehead. His nostrils flared as he inhaled the scent that made him think of their bodies moving as one in an altogether different dance.

God, but he needed to touch her, if only to remind himself that she was real, and that she was really there in his arms. As he had done at the salsa club, he adjusted his movements, using their momentum of spinning her out and pulling her back, twisting and turning, to caress her, preferably where her skin wasn't covered by fabric. To his delight, the backless dress offered him plenty of opportunity for that. One of the reasons he'd figured that the dress would look very good on her was her gracefully curved backside. So he surreptitiously skimmed his fingers down her spine as Elena swiveled her hips, and she gave him a teasing, come-hither smile, as if she knew exactly what he was doing there, her hands slipping off his shoulder to rest on his half-bared chest instead.

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><p><strong>AN: Yes, I know. But there's more to come next chapter. I promise. So, I hope nobody's disappointed that it wasn't Stefan waiting at the bottom of the stairs! Are you enjoying the contest so far? Reviews = love, guys!<strong>


	46. The World's Favorite Metaphor

**AN: I'm really happy that you guys liked the first bit of the contest... Thank you very much for all those wonderful reviews :D You made me really happy! And I mean that!**

**And to Shadowfaxangel: thanks so much, and many good writing vibes ;)**

**As promised, more sexy times with Damon and Elena, and another cameo for Jenna and Ric! Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Previously on Shadowdancing:<em>

Elena's face was radiant as Damon spun her out in a flurry of fast movement. It felt so incredibly good to be dancing like this with the man you loved. She resolved then and there to tell Damon she loved him as soon as possible, whether or not she had talked to Stefan first. It wasn't fair to keep him hanging like this, especially when she was in absolutely no doubt about her own feelings anymore! Now if only he felt the same…

When Elena looked at him with the certainty of her new resolution in her mind, Damon had the indefinable feeling that something had changed between them. Granted, he hadn't seen her for a few days, but if anything, she seemed even more susceptible to him than she had before. Perhaps it was that absence makes the heart grow fonder? Because her eyes were shining with something he didn't dare put a name to...

He felt suddenly lightheaded, almost as if he was drunk on her presence alone (because he sure as hell hadn't been drinking!). It was a balmy night, and Elena was starting to sweat with the exertion, a fine sheen of perspiration appearing on her forehead. His nostrils flared as he inhaled the scent that made him think of their bodies moving as one in an altogether different dance…

God, but he needed to touch her, if only to remind himself that she was real, and that she was really there in his arms. As he had done at the salsa club, he adjusted his movements, using their momentum of spinning her out and pulling her back, twisting and turning, to caress her, preferably where her skin wasn't covered by fabric. To his delight, the backless dress offered him plenty of opportunity for that. One of the reasons he'd figured that the dress would look very good on her was her gracefully curved backside... so he surreptitiously skimmed his fingers down her spine as Elena swiveled her hips… and she gave him a teasing, come-hither smile, as if she knew exactly what he was doing there, her hands slipping off his shoulder to rest on his half-bared chest instead…

Lost in the dance, Damon and Elena were blissfully unaware of anything surrounding their private little island of happiness. The audience might as well not have been present, and the jury that had just eliminated another five couples was the farthest thing from their minds. There was just them and the music, the music that was slowing down again, gradually morphing into a more dreamy melody. The atmosphere changed, turning sultry and almost brooding as the last five couples left on the dance floor adjusted their rhythm accordingly and clung to each other, grinding together as the melody seemed to dictate.

Damon slowly pulled Elena's body closer to his, fitting their hips together and keeping her motionless for an instant, one hand pressed into the small of her back, the other caressing her neck. She put her hands flat against his chest, balancing herself on her toes. They were almost nose-to-nose now, their bodies only inches apart, with Elena still panting after the fast salsa tempo. When Damon parted his lips to share her breath, Elena made a tiny sound deep in her throat and inhaled deeply, all of a sudden craving air desperately. His eyes dipped automatically in response, following the long line of her throat down to her heaving chest, taking in the sheen of perspiration coating her skin.

Elena found that air was still in short supply as his eyes lingered there, making a spike of longing shoot through her body. She moistened her lips by running her tongue over them as she breathlessly awaited his next move. He rolled his hips against hers, his hands firm on her waist, and she moved with him. Then he gave her a wicked grin, and she felt one of his hands slip further down, following the curve of her hips down to her leg. He gripped her thigh and raised it a little ways. She lifted one eyebrow in reply to his dare, and hooked her leg behind his, leaning back a little while keeping a firm hold on his upper arms.

His smile widened as he slid one leg in between hers so she was almost sitting on his thigh, and bent her over backwards, one hand supporting her lower back to keep her from falling over. She leaned back into his hand, fully trusting him to keep her up, even when he let go of her leg and brought his free hand up to lightly drag his fingers down her throat. Although the action didn't take long at all, Elena felt suspended in time as he splayed his fingers wide, brushing his hand over her cleavage, and smoothing it down her belly. His fingers stroked down her raised leg a little ways, and then returned to her waist to bring her back up again.

When she was standing upright, their eyes met. The air between them almost crackled as if it was charged with electricity and she bit her lip. He sent her a heated look full of promise, and then raised her arm to send her in a slow spin before locking one arm around her, pulling her back against him, almost going back to the way they had been standing when the dance had begun. His timing was impeccable, because that's when the drums gave a final roll and the music stopped...

In the sudden silence, you could hear a pin drop. Then a thunderous applause broke loose, intruding on their intimacy and startling Elena out of her imaginary bubble.

Dazed, she looked around, only now noticing that she and Damon were the only two people left on the big wooden floor. He unclasped his arms and released her, and she turned around to stare at him in wide-eyed wonder.

He gave her his lopsided smile and raised one eyebrow, "I don't have to eat the jury, it seems. Congratulations, Miss Gilbert. You won the salsa contest!"

"No, Damon, _we_ won the salsa contest," Elena protested. Then the reality of their victory finally got through to her, and she giddily wound her arms around his neck to hug him tight, "We did it, Damon!"

"There's a _'we' _now?" He asked, sounding almost breathless (that was impossible, she thought. He didn't even need to breathe).

She looked into his eyes, as crystal clear and azure as the ocean, and smiled softly, "Oh, there is, Mr. Salvatore. There _most definitely_ is!"

He laughed joyfully, lifting her off the floor to spin them around, making her giggle merrily as the applause wound down. He let her down by sliding her body down his own only when Carol Lockwood approached them, holding a pristine, white envelope in one hand.

She congratulated them, a speculative gleam in her eyes that didn't escape Damon's notice. So much for Elena keeping them a secret, he thought. That cat is well and truly out of the bag...

Carol had prepared a lengthy speech about the importance of these kinds of events for their little town, that neither Damon nor Elena (or anybody else in the audience for that matter) really paid any attention. Afterwards, the musicians started playing again, and the floor quickly filled up with people who felt like trying their hand at some of those moves they'd just seen.

As soon as Elena left the dance floor, a smiling Caroline intercepted her. There was a little edge to her voice however when she said, "Congratulations, Elena! Even though you had a _totally_ unfair advantage with a dance partner like that! Still, Matt and me ended in the final five, so I'm not mad at you."

Elena laughed, "Thank you, Caroline. I knew that you and Matt would do great! You'll have to dance another one to show me, because I didn't see you during the contest."

"That's certainly true," Caroline winked, "I daresay you didn't see _anything _during the contest. At least, you didn't see anything that wasn't a gorgeous, blue-eyed devil all in black who goes bump in the night!"

Elena blushed a little, and Caroline went on, "Yes, I'd be blushing too. Unlike you, I snuck a look at the competition during the contest. You two made _my_ ears turn red, and that's saying something!"

"We were just dancing, Care!" Elena defended herself weakly.

"I'm sure you were," Caroline loved Elena's reactions when she poked fun at her, "But let me tell you, _that_ was the kind of dancing you have to get married after!"

She snickered at Elena's startled expression. "Just don't be surprised if everybody now thinks that you and Damon are an item for sure..." She looked over Elena's shoulder, and saw Jenna and Bonnie approaching them, "And maybe not all of them are quite ready to wish you a happy ever after with him..."

Elena turned around, almost bumping into Jenna and Bonnie. Both of them congratulated her, but she still heard a certain censure in the tone of their voices, as though they weren't all that comfortable with what they'd just witnessed.

As soon as Bonnie left to congratulate Matt, Jenna eyed her niece and asked in what Elena called her 'inquisitor's voice', "So... you and Damon, huh?"

Elena nodded, "Me and Damon."

Jenna looked at Elena's glowing face once more, and shrugged, "Well, I get it, I suppose. He's _ridiculously _hot, and I have no doubt that he's a real _demon_ in the bedroom..."

Elena's eyes widened a little at Jenna's supposition. If only she knew how close to the truth she actually was! Jenna misinterpreted her surprise though.

"Oh, come on, Elena. That dance I just witnessed... It should have come with an NC-17 warning, it was that much like foreplay," She paused when she saw the color rise in Elena's cheeks. Then she added meaningfully, "I just hope you're being _careful_? I don't have to tell you about the birds and the bees now, do I?"

"No, Jenna. Someone took care of that a long time ago," Besides which, the way Jenna meant it would never be a problem with Damon, because, as he'd so gleefully told her in Atlanta, 'vampires can't procreate, but we love to try'...

Elena gave her aunt a teasing little smile, "Let me think. I seem to remember that birds eat bees, right? Was that it?"

Jenna shot her a warning look and said wryly, "Something like that. Just make sure that this particular bird doesn't swallow you whole, Elena. I know his type: he eats girls like you for breakfast!"

Elena huffed a laugh. He might, at that! And the girls would probably _like_ it too!

Alaric popped up behind Jenna at that moment. He snuck his arms around her waist and pulled her close. Casting a warning look at Elena from behind her aunt's back, he nuzzled Jenna's neck and growled playfully, "Are you talking about me? Nibble, nibble, gnaw, I think I smell a little girl…"

Jenna giggled like the little girl he said she was, before pulling back from Alaric's embrace to tell him mock-sternly, "Wrong fairytale, Ric! It's the big bad wolf that I'm warning Elena about, not the evil witch…"

"Now, Jenna, just because Damon has a fine set of teeth, that doesn't make him a wolf!" Alaric teased, making Elena snicker with how close he was staying to the truth. Well, it _was_ true: Damon _did_ have a fine set of teeth! They just weren't the wolfie kind…

Jenna wiggled an admonishing finger in front of Alaric's face, "Now, Ric, don't poke fun at me while I'm trying to fulfill my role as a responsible parental unit! I'm just telling Elena to guard her heart around her new romantic interest..."

"At least you're wisely not telling her to guard her_ virtue_! It would seem that you're a little late for that anyway," Alaric chuckled and Elena scowled at him. He had no business telling Jenna something like that!

At Elena's scowl, Alaric suddenly sobered and said pensively, "You know, Jenna, I honestly think that Damon is very serious about Elena..."

"Of course you would say that! He's your friend after all," Jenna exclaimed, "You know as well as I do that Damon is the textbook example of a _bad boy_, Ric! He's definitely got the look, the flirty talk, the attitude … the whole works!"

She looked at Elena, "I told you I _got_ it, Elena. I just want to make sure that you don't make the same mistakes I did by falling for a gorgeous guy who positively _oozes_ sex appeal, and..."

Alaric pretended to wince, "You're not supposed to notice those things about another guy, Jenna, even if he is my best friend. Heck, _especially _if he is! And if you _do_ notice it, you' re not supposed to tell me to my face!"

"Oh, Ric! I think it's sweet that you're all jealous," Jenna teased with a smile, turning fully towards Alaric so she could cup his face in her hands and gaze into his eyes, "Why did you think I fell for you, if not for _your_ crazy good looks and _your_ rampant sex appeal? You just happen to be _exactly_ my type…"

Elena smiled when she saw them kissing, and she backed off carefully. Ric had cleverly succeeded in getting Jenna off her case, whether it was intentional or not (but she thought it was), so she'd better use the opportunity to make herself scarce. She turned around to look for Damon.

He was nowhere to be found… until she started scanning the dance floor. It was easy to spot him then, because he was dancing... and there was a wide circle around him and his current dance partner.

Elena wasn't all that surprised to see it was the wily Carmencita. Every charitable feeling she'd had for the Cuban dancer disappeared as soon as she saw her twining her curvaceous body around Damon, clinging to him like a vine as they executed the now familiar salsa moves. Damon did seem to make an effort to keep her at arms' length, but _she_ of course would have none of it!

Elena's eyes narrowed as she observed them, silently simmering for a minute, until she suddenly had enough. Remembering how Damon had once interrupted her dance with Matt, she marched onto the dance floor, wending her way through the dancing couples, and tapped Carmencita on the shoulder.

When the woman looked up in surprise, Elena smiled sweetly, and said, "I'm _so_ sorry for cutting in here, but this is _our_ song…" She looked at Damon as if daring him to comment. He raised an eyebrow, but wisely refrained from saying anything.

Carmencita raised one eyebrow knowingly, but she did back off, though she couldn't help a sly remark, "The kitten has grown herself some claws, it seems…"

Elena raised one brow haughtily, "Yes, and she's not afraid to show them either!"

Carmencita surprised Elena by smiling and winking, "Good for you, _niña_! You should fight for what you want!"

When Elena's jaw dropped, she added in a whisper, "Take good care of him, _niña_. This one is a keeper…" She blew Damon a kiss, and then she turned on her heel and sashayed off the dance floor, a good number of admiring male glances openly following her progress.

Damon was looking at Elena with an odd expression on his face, but she didn't have time to interpret it before it was gone, replaced by his familiar smirk, "The kitten has grown into a tiger, more like."

His arms came around her, pulling her closer as he gave her a wolfish grin, "Did you just do the equivalent of _pissing_ on me to mark your territory?"

As they started swaying to the music, Elena tried her best to look censorious at the expression he'd used, but her twitching mouth betrayed her true feelings.

"What if I did?" She replied saucily.

"Don't get me wrong, I _like_ you like this," Damon drawled. "I'm just surprised to discover the unexpectedly wild side of my darling Elena…"

"Oh, darling Elena can get a lot ... _wilder_… than this," Elena looked at him coyly from beneath her lashes, drawing a single finger down the exposed part of his chest, all the way down to where the sash blocked her from wandering any further.

"Well, in that case…" Damon waggled his eyebrows roguishly, "I'm eagerly looking forward to a walk on your wild side!" With those words he spun her around, only to suddenly bring his hands down, locking her immobile in his arms.

As he pulled her against his chest, she was reminded of the dancing lesson they'd had at the boarding house when Caroline and Matt had been there. Only that time, he'd been teaching her a lesson... and _she_ had been far too mortified to fully appreciate it. This time, things were different. She pushed her body back against his, intentionally brushing against him as she rolled her hips.

She was gratified when he sucked in a breath and purred in her ear, "Watch it, poppet! You might want to hold back a little on the whole grinding routine until we can go somewhere a little more _private_... You're making it very _hard_ for me, if you know what I mean!"

"Serves you right for wearing those tight pants," She said with a naughty giggle and deliberately raked her nails over his thigh.

He groaned at her gesture, "Don't you like them?"

She gave him a sultry pout, turning around in his arms, "Are you kidding me? Of course I _like_ them. Me and the entire female population of Mystic Falls…"

Damon smirked at her remark, "Well, _you_ are the one who gets to take them off tonight. Not the entire female population of Mystic Falls..."

Elena licked her lips, "I can live with that, I guess..."

That was when the phone in his pocket started buzzing...

_To be continued..._

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><p><strong>AN: That concludes the dance contest. I couldn't resist bringing Jenna and Ric back again... Did you like it? You know reviews make my muse a happy lady... <strong>


	47. Close Encounters

**AN: Thank you for your amazing reviews, my fang-tastic readers! I'm so glad the dancing was to your liking! And if it wasn't enough for you, I have good news. ****One of my wonderful readers, Bibi13ca, has offered to write another spin-off of the smutty kind, for the previous chapter. It will be posted soon, and it will be called Forever and After. Be sure to check it out! **

**The next chapter... I wrote some bits of this quite a while ago, when I was a little stuck in another part of Shadowdancing, and I wasn't really comfortable with where the characters were taking me, notably with why they insisted on dragging True Blood stuff like claiming and siring into it, since that isn't really part of the Vampire Diaries-canon. Only imagine my surprise when Damon suddenly started talking about Tyler being 'sired' by Klaus! So, I left it in, and took a little liberty with it. I hope you don't mind…**

**And finally, BE WARNED! This turned out to be somewhat more violent than I intended. You all know who to blame for that ;)**

**Enjoy the drama!**

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><p>When Caroline hurried into the dressing room to change her shoes (they were absolutely killingher, pun intended), she didn't immediately notice anything amiss. But the moment she felt someone behind her and started turning around, it was already too late. A muscular arm in a tight grey shirt blocked her turn, drawing her against his body in a strangely lover-like embrace, his arm crossed over her chest, her back to his chest.<p>

She panicked for a second, until a familiar voice gave away the identity of the arm's owner, "Hello, Caroline! Aren't you happy to see me?"

She sagged against him in relief, "_Stefan_! What are you doing sneaking up on people like that! You scared me to death!"

She started turning around, but he wouldn't release her, holding her immobile against his own body. He chuckled softly, a strangely ominous sound that made a shiver run down Caroline's spine, and murmured, "Why, Caroline! You made a vampire joke!"

"I hadn't meant it to be funny," Caroline snapped as she pulled harder, trying to get away from him. But his arm might as well have been made of steel; she couldn't break free. She started thrashing in his arms, bristling, "Stefan! What are you doing? Let me go!"

Stefan pulled her even closer, keeping her pinned against him quite easily. Had he always been so strong? She'd never noticed! His mouth by her ear, he drawled, "Mmm, Caroline! Do that again! I always figured you for a hot little number, but I didn't know you were into S&M. Not that I'm complaining!"

Caroline stilled immediately, slightly freaked out, "_What_?"

Stefan nuzzled her neck, burying his nose into her spill of blond curls, "Maybe we could have some fun together? I've always liked you, did you know?" He inhaled deeply, his lips brushing her neck.

"No!" Caroline pulled her head away as far as she could, given her uncomfortable position. She hated the slight tremor she heard in her own voice as she asked, "Why are you being like this?"

"You don't wanna play?" He sulked, sounding slightly disappointed, "But you did want to play with my brother! So why not with me? It seems we're so easily interchangeable. A Salvatore is a Salvatore, after all… Hmm?" His free hand stroked down her side in a gentle caress. Caroline flinched.

"No_, _Stefan. I don't want to play with you. I want you to let me go!" Caroline was starting to freak out, because Stefan was acting mighty strange. Very un-Stefan-like.

"Not just yet, my pretty," He raked one hand through her curls, as if he wanted to soothe her. She stiffened. "Are you quite sure you don't want to play with me? You might like it, you know," he inquired again, almost dispassionately, so she knew he wasn't actually interested. This was obviously some very twisted sibling rivalry thing he had going with Damon.

She didn't answer, just lunged, in a last ditch effort to get away from him, but it seemed that he'd been waiting for her to do exactly that. From out of nowhere, he produced a long, lethal-looking piece of wood, and the pointy end was aimed at Caroline's neck. He nicked her skin with it, drawing blood, and though she knew it wouldn't kill her, it was enough to freeze her in her tracks. She clapped her hand to her bleeding neck. It stung, goddammit.

Stefan pushed her up against the wall, the stake still pointing unwaveringly at Caroline. He leaned in closer, and she saw immediately that the smell of her blood had caused him to vamp out: dark veins ran beneath his red-rimmed eyes, and his fangs were elongated. He really looked like the predator he was, in a way that Caroline had never seem him before. She shivered, wary eyes fixed on him without blinking.

"Yes, little girl, I see I have your full attention now. Remember, you might be a vampire, but you're quite a baby compared to me, especially the new, improved me," He stroked a finger lightly down her cheek, a strangely sweet gesture that was completely at odds with his behavior.

She cringed at his touch, but he didn't seem to notice, or else he just didn't care. Suddenly sounding businesslike, he said, "So, this is what we'll do. I'm going to ask you nicely to do something for me." He paused, the vampire features melting away, but Caroline didn't say anything, since he clearly wasn't expecting an answer; she just pressed her lips together.

"Caroline, will you call my brother on that girlie pink cell phone of yours?" Stefan asked, almost as if he was addressing a child, and it gave Caroline the creeps. "Call him, and get him to come up here. Alone. Got that?"

"No…" Caroline breathed. This was going to be a trap as clear as day. She'd thought he was here to see Elena, but obviously that wasn't the case.

"No? No, you don't get it? Or no, you won't do it?" Stefan asked, eyes narrowing. The aura of menace around him was almost palpable, even though the vampire visage was no longer there.

Caroline decided to give it one last shot. She was no coward, after all. And it wasn't as if he could kill her that easily. "Oh, I _get_ it, all right. You want me to lure Damon up here so you can do something to him. Why Damon? Why not Elena?"

Stefan had been looking at her quite calmly, until she mentioned Elena. In the blink of an eye, his face changed again, lips peeling back from fierce looking canines. Caroline was so stunned that she didn't see his hand move as he plunged the stake into her belly. She choked in surprise, and slid to the floor, hands clutching at the protruding end of wood.

As she sat there, gulping in unneeded air, she heard Stefan hiss, "Don't. Mention. Elena. She stays out of this. _Capisce_?"

He squatted down next to her, tilting his head, and looked at her almost compassionately, "Oh, poor Caroline. You have a little booboo? Wait, I'll make it all better."

Before Caroline could react, he grabbed the stake and yanked it out again. She gasped and pressed her hand to the gaping wound. Knowing it would heal didn't make it any less painful. Besides, this was one aspect of vampirism that she didn't yet fully trust.

Stefan held out her own phone to her, and she grabbed it with the other hand, pushing the number 5, which was the speed dial on her phone for Damon. The phone call got redirected, probably because he'd refused the call. She hit speed dial again.

This time Damon picked it up almost instantly, "Barbie, I'm in the middle of something here!"

"Damon. I'm in the girls' changing room upstairs. I need you to come up here for a moment," Caroline's voice came out in a hoarse whisper.

"The changing room?" Damon didn't sound at all amused, "You do realize that I'm not responding to your booty calls any longer?"

Caroline ignored his jibe. She gritted her teeth and her voice was stronger when she replied, "It's not that. Please?"

Damon gave a dry chuckle, "Told ya you'd need help getting out of that dress. Shall I not send Elena up instead?"

"No, Damon, just you. Please?" She tried to keep her voice steady, because Stefan was looking at her like an eagle, twirling the bloodied stake between his hands, and she knew she'd feel the sharp end of it again if he thought she was alerting Damon to the situation.

"This had better be good, Caroline," Damon groused, motioning at Elena to stay there, and turning to head upstairs.

"Believe me, it is. Could you just come quickly?" A click, and the line went dead.

Damon frowned. Something was definitely up, but there was nothing more to it than going upstairs to see why Blondie sounded like somebody had just spilled something on her brand new party dress.

When he walked into the ladies' changing room upstairs, he was alert. He spotted Caroline immediately, slumped against the wall with her eyes closed. He scanned the room, but there was nobody in sight, so he moved swiftly towards her, his nose picking up the tang of vampire blood as he approached her cautiously.

Caroline raised her head at the sound of his footsteps, her eyes widening as soon as she saw him, "Damon! Watch out! It's a-"

Before the word 'trap' had left her mouth, Damon was already spinning around, just in time to see a blur and feel something slam into his side with a great deal of force. Stefan had been aiming for his stomach, but Damon's sudden twist caused the stake to miss the place he'd been targeting. Damon stumbled back into a little side table and crashed to the ground with it, narrowly avoiding being staked by the pieces.

"And so we meet again. Hello, brother," Stefan said, slowly walking closer.

Damon groaned, and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position on the ground, "Because of course nothing says hello quite like a pointy piece of wood through the gut, right, Stefan?"

Stefan shrugged nonchalantly, adopting an attitude that contradicted the intense light in his moss green eyes, "A little pain won't kill you. I'm just evening the odds, Damon. As you so kindly pointed out to me the last time we met, you're still stronger than me."

"Me and my big mouth," Damon mumbled wryly under his breath, bending over to pull out the stake. He grimaced when it slid out slowly, tearing through muscles and flesh alike. What a time to not have those vervain syringes on him! Of course, hiding something like that would have been impossible given his tight pants and lack of jacket, but his brother really had the worst timing ever. Five days of turning up every stone in the county, and here he was, underfoot when you wanted him least.

His voice dripping with all the sarcasm he could muster, he said, "So, to what do I owe the honor of this gallant greeting? Is this about Elena? Because I figured you'd have flipped the switch by now," He was observing Stefan while he spoke, and saw the telltale wince at the mention of Elena's name.

"Who says I haven't?" Stefan inquired coldly.

Damon pursed his lips, "Nah. You haven't. Because if you had, you wouldn't give a damn about Elena anymore. Yet here you are, skewering your favorite brother like a shishkabob."

Stefan tilted his head, as if he was merely curious, "Why would that have anything to do with Elena?"

"Because, dear brother," Damon drawled, "You forget that I used to be the one to promise you an eternity of misery and pain. You never reciprocated, and now suddenly you do? Only one possible explanation for that, and it's called E-le-na. You're jealous, ergo: you still care."

He paused to gauge Stefan's reaction, and when Stefan growled at him, he added, "Look on the bright side, baby bro! It means we can still save your caring ass! After a few weeks in rehab, you'll be ready for another decade or so of playing broody two-shoes."

Leaning back against the wall, he tried to ignore the pain and waited for the wound to start healing, cursing himself for falling into Stefan's trap so easily.

Stefan looked down at him with a sneer, "You were never this much of a hypocrite, Damon! From the free porn show you two were giving on the dance floor just now, it's crystal clear that you've gotten the girl. Why would you even care whether or not I'm still keeping it together?"

"Kind of hard not to care when you're dripping blood all over the mayor's Persian carpet!" Damon snapped, unease starting to gnaw at his insides. The healing wasn't happening fast enough. He looked down: blood was still seeping through his fingers. He frowned when the thought struck him that Stefan might have soaked the stake in vervain to slow down the healing process.

His worry made him lash out at his brother, "Dammit, Stefan! Have you been watching too much Dr. Phil? I don't think he meant 'stake your claim' quite so literally!"

Stefan turned his back to him, apparently convinced that Damon would stay down for a while. So it really was vervain then. "Who says I'm staking a claim? Why would I even want her back?"

Damon laughed derisively, "Oh, please_,_ Stefan, don't give me that crap. I'm a vampire too, as you should know better than anyone! We don't just give up on what we consider ours quite so easily. I know I wouldn't, especially if we're talking about Elena."

Stefan had squatted down on his haunches by Caroline's side (probably checking that she was still incapacitated, she thought irritably), but at Damon's snide remark, he growled aggressively, "Are you saying that she's yoursnow?"

Caroline frowned, uncomprehending. What were they going on about?

Stefan had been looking at Caroline without actually seeing her, but now his eyes focused, and he noticed her confusion. "You look a little lost, Caroline dear. Ah, yes, I forgot that you're still a fledgling vamp. Technically, Damon is your sire and so he should have done the honors, but it seems he might have been a little… negligent, shall we say, in explaining the Rules, such as they are."

Caroline looked mystified, "What rules? What are you talking about?"

Stefan extended a hand. She flinched when his knuckle traced down her cheek. "Don't worry. I'll be happy to rectify my brother's oversight!" He purred, "Lesson the first: humans are fair game, unless they are claimed by vampire. Then they are off limits to any other vampire. Didn't you ever watch True Blood? At least they got thatright!"

Damon interrupted him tersely. "Spare us the vampire lore, Stefan, and leave the explanations to Alan Ball. I'm sure HBO is paying him enough!"

Stefan ignored him. He twirled a lock of Caroline's hair around his finger, and looked at it pensively as he continued, "Lesson the second: the human can accept the claim by returning it. That's called bonding."

Damon sighed audibly and said, "To get back to the matter at hand. No, I didn_'_t claim Elena. Yet. But then, neither did you! Which means that you essentially left her free for the taking."

"I drank her blood!" Stefan protested, and only then did Caroline realize what exactly was involved in all this claiming and bonding they were going on about.

"Drinking doesn't constitute a claim, brother. You do know it needs to be with intent, right?" Damon snorted scornfully, "Did she even enjoy it at all?"

Stefan stood, glaring daggers at Damon. He knew he was by no means as accomplished at giving pleasure with a bite as his brother, who mastered that particular skill to perfection. But if he hadn't gotten to Elena yet, not everything was lost! "You should have gone ahead and claimed her, Damon, because now she's still mine to take!"

"And you intend to take her," Damon stated, and it wasn't a question. "Will you force her to accept your claim as well?"

"Why would I need to force her? She loves me," Stefan sounded matter-of-factly.

"She loves broody, soulful Angel-you. She might not like you so much now that you're channeling Angelus, little brother," Damon said, forcing himself to get up.

"Oh, she won't know that. After I take you out of the equation, she will be happy to take me back," Stefan retorted, walking over to a backpack that had been lying on the floor. He extracted a bottle filled with a transparent greenish liquid. Caroline moaned and shoved as far away from him as she could. But Stefan ignored her, tilting his head to look at Damon when he spoke.

"So you've finally decided you can face eternity alone then?" Damon asked, a cold feeling of dread settling in his stomach. He was not convinced that he'd be able to take on Stefan version 2.0. in his weakened state.

"Oh, don't worry, brother mine. I'm not going to kill you," Stefan drawled, filling a syringe with the liquid from the bottle of vervain by pushing the needle through the cork. "See? I do have family feeling. I'm just… putting you in storage, shall we say? What's a little stint underground for a vampire, after all?"

Damon was silent, thinking what to say to that, when he heard soft footsteps coming up the stairs. He'd recognize that step anywhere. Elena. His eyes swiveled to Stefan, and from his brother's sudden stillness, he knew that Stefan had heard her too. He rushed up to Damon, intending to plunge the vervain dart into his body as quickly as possible, but Damon resisted fiercely. He wasn't going down without a fight! He met Stefan head-on, and in the ensuing tussle, the syringe fell from Stefan's hand and rolled under a chair.

The blood loss and the vervain that the stake had brought into his system were weakening Damon considerably, but he forced his body to keep moving. It was to no avail, because Stefan wrestled him down to the floor, just as Elena appeared in the doorway.

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><p><strong>AN: Enter Elena. So, I hope you liked my version of high-on-human-blood-but-not-fully-emotionless Stefan? He's no longer fighting his blood addiction here, but he hasn't fully turned his emotions off either. I was aiming for a continuation of Miss Mystic Falls Stefan (what he'd do if he kept indulging – I feel like he's very good at justifying it to himself once he's stopped fighting the bloodlust), instead of being forced into drinking or emotionless Ripper Stefan we've seen in season 3. I hope the claimingbonding stuff wasn't too complicated. Apparently the possessiveness thingy has a reason, as Damon explained to me. What did you think? Stefan is really off the rails right now… Did you like it? A little? You know I love your reviews!**


	48. Fool for Love

**AN: These last few chapters certainly took a much darker turn than the rest of this rather more lighthearted story. I honestly hadn't planned for this: Stefan kind of took me by surprise too! It made me afraid that you might not like it all that much, but most of you didn't seem to mind. Yay! I have such wonderful and open-minded readers! I want to thank everyone who sent me reviews on the previous chapter (and I will still reply those of you that I didn't thank yet!), and who let me know they liked not-quite-full-blown-ripper Stefan. You made my Monday night, my Tuesday morning, and my whole week :D **

**The next chapter is called Fool for Love, which I originally based on the quote by Molière you'll find at the top of this chapter. It also happens (as Shadowfaxangel, my wonderful beta and source of all things Buffy, informed me) to be the title of an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the one where she realizes her mortality. How fitting…**

**BTW, this is going to be my longest chapter to date! Enjoy!**

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><p><strong><em>"On est aisément dupé par ce qu'on aime" - Molière<br>(One is easily fooled by that which one loves) _**

Elena had grown tired of waiting for Damon to come back. What was he doing anyway? He couldn't just tell her to stay here and expect her to twiddle her thumbs for the rest of the evening! Mind made up, she made a beeline for the stairs…

When she was almost at the top, she heard voices coming from the dressing room, though she couldn't exactly understand what they were saying. Straining her ears, she thought she recognized Stefan's voice. She'd known he was back, but what was he doing _here_?

She was inching closer to the doors when the sounds of a scuffle reached her ears. The thought of what might be going on in there made her hurry inside… only to pause on the threshold, surveying the scene in the dressing room with horror dawning on her face as she saw Caroline slumped against the far wall, and Stefan wrestling Damon down to the ground.

She didn't really stop to think; she just yelled, "Stefan! _Stop_! What are you _doing_?"

Stefan stilled to look up at Elena, a possessive green glow lighting up his eyes at the sight of her. He smiled as his eyes travelled down her body, taking in the short, snug, black dress, and lingering on the fair amount of cleavage she was showing.

As if they were the only two people in the room, he said softly, "You look amazing, Elena. But then you always do..."

Damon groaned. God, how pathetic! Here he was, trapped underneath his own brother, listening to him spouting some romantic drivel to his soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend... Because any minute now Elena would tell Stefan that they were over. That she'd made her choice and that she was choosing the _other_ brother. That it would always be Damon for her from now on. She would tell him _any moment now_...

Elena had already opened her mouth to tell Stefan that they needed to talk when she saw the blood.

There were rust colored smears all over Damon's chest and stomach, on Stefan's shirt, on the carpet... But whose blood was it? Stefan didn't look very much the worse for wear, so it had to be Damon's blood. That wasn't good... Did Stefan do this? Something was definitely off with him... And why was Damon just lying there, doing nothing? He was stronger than Stefan surely? Was he hurt that badly?

She snapped her mouth shut and forced herself to keep breathing normally, reassuring herself with the knowledge that Damon would heal quickly...

Her eyes returned to Stefan, puzzled by the air of danger and menace that he exuded, so much so that all of her senses were telling her to _run_... Where had she seen that before?

Suddenly it clicked: her mind flashed back to a picture of the same room, about half a year ago... Damon telling her that Stefan was still drinking human blood. There had been the same kind of _intensity_ about Stefan then. He looked in control, but it was a tenuous control, like a tightly coiled spring that was ready to snap at any given moment. Oh, no! What if he'd succumbed to temptation again? Telling Stefan they were history might not be the brightest idea right now. What if he lost it completely? There were too many innocent people around here; it was like an all-U-can-eat buffet for a bloodthirsty vampire...

They would have to take Stefan out and wean him off the blood again. It was the only way, and it had worked the last time. But how? She frantically tried to think of something, anything...

Like a light bulb flashing on in her head, the vervain dart sitting in her bag sprang to mind. She'd been lugging it around all day, like a child would a comfort blanket... Trying not to be conspicuous about it, she cast a furtive look around the dressing room, hoping to locate the bag somewhere. Bingo, there it was, on the couch! She'd have to be very, very careful retrieving it, or Stefan would get suspicious…

'Keep talking, Elena,' she thought to herself. Distract him! At the very least it would give Damon the time to heal, so he could help her if something went wrong...

"What's going on in here?" Her voice was as shaky as her legs when she took a few steps into the room.

"Nothing to worry your pretty little head over, Elena," Stefan replied haughtily, and Elena frowned at his cavalier dismissal.

"Stefan?" She asked again, worry seeping into her voice, "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay? I'm perfectly fine," He answered her, almost flirtatiously now, "Tell me, Elena, did you like my rose?"

"_What_?" Elena blinked at his sudden change of subject.

Stefan repeated more insistently, "Did you like the yellow rose I left you last night?"

Maybe she'd better humor him a little... "Yes, Stefan, it was lovely," She replied uncertainly, as she slowly made her way over to the couch and her bag.

Stefan's eyes followed her movements like a hawk observing a mouse. She noted that his eyes were glued to her legs and the sway of her hips that came naturally now as long as she was wearing her high heeled dancing shoes… She swallowed, feeling nervous but at the same time oddly detached, as if it was someone else who was observing these things. Could she use this to her advantage? Surely Damon would understand that she was just pretending…

Flat on his back on the floor, effectively pinned down by his brother bodily sitting on him, Damon glowered, suspicion rearing its ugly head. What was going on here? What rose? What was Stefan talking about? Come to think of it, Elena didn't seem all that surprised about his brother's appearance. Had she known he was here? His eyes narrowed as he wondered whether Stefan hadn't been hiding in Mystic Falls before today, while he was out scouring the countryside for his runaway brother... Perhaps Elena had already seen Stefan? Had he snuck his way back into Elena's affections? But she hadn't said anything… And surely he would have noticed her changed behavior? Or was she that good an actress? No, that was impossible... Or wasn't it? Cold dread wrapped its chilly fingers around his heart as he watched Elena sink down onto the couch and cross her legs slowly, seductively.

Elena made sure to sit down close to her bag before continuing in a soft voice, "But I did prick my finger on one of its thorns," She hesitated, then added with a pout, "It made me bleed some…"

At the mere mention of her blood, Stefan's eyes darkened, confirming her suspicions. He was staring at her as if he was in thrall, Damon completely forgotten. She avoided looking at Damon; afraid of betraying by a single look why exactly she was doing this. But surely Damon should have healed by now? Maybe he was just biding his time, waiting for her to distract Stefan some more?

Elena gazed at her index finger pensively; then she stuck the finger into her mouth as if just thinking about it brought back the sting of pain she'd felt. Sucking her finger, she looked back up at Stefan from under her lashes to gauge his reaction.

"Pity I wasn't there," Stefan purred, his eyes fixed on her mouth unwaveringly. He ran the tip of his tongue over his lips, "I could have kissed you and made it all better..."

Why didn't Damon _do_ anything? Maybe he was hurt worse than she'd assumed? She needed to find that vervain dart ASAP! Her mind racing, Elena languidly uncrossed her legs, and crossed them the other way around, Basic Instinct style, drawing Stefan's attention away from her face so she could reach behind her with one arm, blindly groping inside her bag for the vervain dart. She carefully extracted it under the cover of her body (trying not to get pricked in the bargain).

Damon watched incredulously as Elena flirted with his brother right under his nose. The red-hot jealousy clawing at his insides made him snap recklessly, "You mean you'd have _bitten _her and made it all _worse_!"

Damon's sarcastic comment made Stefan blink and tense up, his attention once again on his brother. Elena sighed and sent Damon an angry look. He was going to get himself staked again for his obnoxious behavior when she needed him to heal! She hurriedly tried to think of something to distract Stefan from paying any more attention to his brother.

Before she could think about the wisdom of her words, she blurted out, "Are you drinking blood again, Stefan?" The nerves constricting her throat made her voice sound husky, and Stefan's eyes snapped back to her face immediately.

"Of _course_ I'm drinking blood," He flashed her a teasing smile, and jested, "Can't live without it! I'm a _vampire_, remember?"

Elena almost rolled her eyes at his willful misunderstanding of her question, "You know what I mean, Stefan. Are you on the _human_ stuff?"

"What makes you think so?" He tossed back blandly.

Exasperated by his evasive tactics, Elena sighed and said, "Oh, _Stefan_! Denial is not just a river in Egypt, you know?"

The compassion in her voice made Stefan flare up, "And what if I _am_ drinking human blood, Elena? It's in our nature," He shrugged. "It's _normal_ for us."

"It's not normal for _you_!" She exclaimed before she could think better of it.

"Why _not_ for me? Like I said, I'm a vampire. Normal to a vampire is _drinking human blood_," He retorted, sounding like a petulant child. "You never had any problems with _Damon_ drinking human blood!"

"This is not about Damon, Stefan," Elena said softly. "It's about what's happening to _you!_"

Damon had had enough. Why was Elena talking to Stefan like that, all sweetness and light? And why was she acting so caring and affectionate, like a good little girlfriend? She _still_ hadn't told Stefan that they were through. In fact, it appeared as though she didn't intend to tell him _at all_. The taste of disappointment was bitter like ashes in his mouth as he listened to their conversation. How could he have been so _stupid_! He should have known she would go running back into Stefan's arms as soon as he showed his face again! He should have known... because Elena would _always_ choose Stefan...

Scowling, he looked down at his side: at least the bleeding had stopped, and the healing had begun, though it was still happening at a snail's rate…

He knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do in his weakened condition, but anger and frustration fuelled his movements as he grabbed one of the slender pieces of wood that had once been a leg of the little table he'd crashed into. Then he bucked his hips, in an attempt to dislodge Stefan and drive the makeshift stake into Stefan's stomach, grumbling, "Let's make it about Damon then, shall we? I'm beginning to feel a little neglected here!"

Stefan was so distracted by Elena that Damon almost succeeded. But Damon's blood loss was too recent and his reactions still too slow as a result of the vervain in his system. Stefan ducked, but not in time to evade Damon's unsteady thrust completely. The wood went in a little ways before glancing off a rib. Stefan was quick to pull it out, and, reversing the stake, he buried the sharp end in Damon's stomach instead. Damon groaned and fell back, hands clutched around the smooth piece of wood embedded in his flesh and cursing a blue streak.

Stefan stood and casually raised his shirt with one hand, exposing the taut muscles of his stomach. He pursed his lips when he saw the blood trickling from the gash in his side, and watched until the flesh knitted together, leaving his skin flawless once more. Then he looked down at his grimacing sibling, and remarked spitefully, "That's what you get for being an ass, _brother_! Consider yourself lucky that this one was vervain-free…"

He bent over to put his hand on the wood as if to yank it out again, but Damon recoiled in a hurry, shielding himself from Stefan's attempt at grabbing the stake with a hiss, "Back off, Stefan! I'll get it out myself! I don't particularly care for your new brand of TLC!" He clenched his jaw and ripped out the stake, welcoming the searing pain that was not half as bad as the gut wrenching hurt of Elena's betrayal.

Elena had jumped up from the couch, eyes big as saucers as she watched the clash that had taken less than a minute. She almost ran to them when Damon got staked, but she forced herself to remain motionless, afraid that Stefan would see the syringe she was holding in her hand. Vervain. That explained Caroline and Damon's lethargy and their strange lack of healing! It looked as though it would be up to her to take Stefan down…

Stefan was still staring down at Damon, as if contemplating what to do with him. Before he could do any more damage to his brother, Elena took a cautious step forward, clutching the vervain-filled dart in one white-knuckled hand and hiding it in the folds of her skirt. She tilted her head and queried quietly, "Stefan?" This time, she couldn't have hidden the tremor in her voice if she'd wanted to, "This isn't like you _at all_."

He whipped around as if he'd forgotten all about her presence, and she felt a shiver race down her back at the sight of his eyes. They were as emotionless and hard as shards of green glass. But as soon as they came to rest on her, they thawed, almost as if he'd flipped a switch, turning into warm emerald pools again.

"Don't you _see_, Elena?" He spoke passionately, "It's _exactly_ who I am! The _real_ me! I'm stronger, faster ... This is who I'm supposed to be, not the broody and tortured soul from _before_!"

Elena cast her eyes down, "But I _liked_ you before, Stefan..." She said sadly, sneaking a peek at him from beneath her lashes, trying to lure him away from Damon.

It seemed to work, because Stefan prowled closer. There was no other word for it: she recognized the predator's grace that had always been clearly visible in Damon, but she'd never noticed it in Stefan quite as pronounced as it was today.

"And you'll like me _now_!" He said fervently, "Oh, Elena! You _will_, I guarantee it!"

She was silent, thinking what to do next. He clearly believed what he was saying…

He inched closer, extending a hand to touch her cheek, and she couldn't help but lean into it for a second, regretting that it had come to this between them. She half-closed her eyes, afraid that he might read in them what she intended to do, but his thumb just kept stroking her jaw in a gently hypnotizing caress as he went on, "The old Stefan is gone. He's _gone_, Elena. And good riddance too, because he was _boring as hell_!"

"No, Stefan. He wasn't; he was sweet and caring. But…" She faltered when Stefan abruptly closed the distance between them, pulling her flush against his hard body.

His fingers wrapped around her upper arms, holding her in a tight grip, effectively preventing her from moving, and for a fraction of a second she thought she'd been found out, that he'd seen the vervain dart… but he just leaned in, in a desperate attempt to convince her, "He is _me_, Elena. I'm still the same person! If you loved _him_, you can love _me_ too!"

This close, she could feel the aura of danger that clung to him like a second skin. He was a tiger pretending to be a pussycat, and he was just as unpredictable.

She knew he could feel her quivering in his grasp, but she couldn't stop herself. He rubbed her arms before releasing them with a whispered, "Please don't be afraid of me, Elena!"

This was her chance. Elena leaned into him as if to embrace him, one arm sliding around his waist, the other arm coming up in an arc behind Stefan's back.

"I'm _so_ sorry, Stefan," she mumbled as she plunged the vervain dart in his body with as much force as she could muster.

Stefan reared back immediately, grabbing for the syringe to pull it out as fast as possible. He dropped it to the floor, and Elena was horrified to see that she hadn't succeeded in getting it in deep enough. Only half of the greenish liquid had gone into his bloodstream, and though he staggered a little, he didn't fall like she'd expected him to.

He turned his face towards her slowly, and her eyes widened when she saw that his face was changing, dark shadows appearing under eyes that had turned red in a blink. He didn't say anything, and she raised a shaking hand in a feeble attempt to ward him off.

"Please, Stefan! I was only trying to help you…" She defended her actions in a barely audible whisper, but of course Stefan's enhanced hearing had no trouble picking it up.

"You want to _help_ me?" He rasped, and his gaze lowered, honing in on the erratically throbbing pulse in her throat. When she saw the hunger leap into his eyes, she backed away without thinking, because she could feel the direction of his thoughts, and the idea of Stefan biting her when he was on edge like this, scared the living daylights out of her.

Without taking his eyes off her throat, he lisped around his fangs, "How about sharing some of your delectable blood with me? I just want one taste…"

"Um… Stefan, I don't think that's a very good idea..." She started, but he moved closer, and she backed away a few more steps, because frankly, he was scaring her big time now. Why did he suddenly want to drink her blood? Would he even be able to stop in time?

When she came up against the wall, there was panic in her eyes. The thought flashed through her mind that she'd been just as up close and personal with Damon, but his vampire features hadn't scared her at all… They had turned her on. Stefan's… didn't. When his face had changed, it had seemed to drain away all his humanity in a flash. She was just terrified now.

"Why not? Are you sharing so much blood with my brother that there's nothing left for me?" Stefan's eyes were glittering dangerously, and Elena swallowed, "Does Damon make you scream with pleasure when he drinks from you?"

Her voice was a barely there whisper when she said, "Damon never..."

"Tsk, Elena! No need to pretend…" Stefan drawled, "I saw you two outside of that salsa club... Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it! You'll never convince me that you didn't let him taste you again after that..." Intent on the blood he could hear rushing through Elena's veins, he touched his tongue to his fangs in anticipation, before adding almost as an afterthought, "But since he didn't _claim_ you…"

Elena made a break for the door even though she knew it was a futile attempt. Stefan pounced, his body trapping Elena against the wall. He cupped one hand to her neck, the other gripping her waist as he dipped his face down agonizingly slowly...

Damon growled from the far side of the room, but Stefan ignored him, lost in his lust for Elena's blood. He didn't just want to _drink_ her; he wanted to _possess_ her. He could claim her right now, and if he went by it the right way, she might even accept his claim… He didn't have as much practice as his brother did when it came to giving pleasure with a bite, but he figured he knew enough… Elena wouldn't be afraid of him after that! She'd be begging for more…

Elena froze, her breath trapped in her throat, as his fangs cut into the delicate skin of her neck, making the blood flow. The pain was enough to shock her out of her daze. She uttered a low moan and tried to pull away from him as he started drinking…

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Phew. This turned out to be a <em>very<em> hard chapter to write (and rewrite, and rewrite…), because I couldn't quite capture Elena's voice at first. She still wants to help Stefan, but she mistakenly thinks Damon will see through her ploy, and help her out. Damon being Damon of course thinks she is choosing Stefan **_**again**_**... and who could blame him? It's not like he hasn't been there, done that... **

**Stefan on the other hand is just**** fine with his new diet; in fact, he feels great. He just needs to convince Elena that she'll like this version of him much better. Maybe because it lies closer to what he imagines **_**Damon**_** to be? He's noticed that Elena seems to 'like' Damon a little too much (understatement of the century LOL), so I guess he feels that he stands a better chance of keeping her as Stefan 2.0. What a comedy (drama?) of errors this is turning out to be…**

**I know... I'm evil for leaving you with another cliffhanger, but I couldn't resist… So, what did you think? Please push that blue button below...**


	49. Something Worth Fighting For

**AN: I know I kept you in suspense for a week on Elena's fate... But you know by now how much I like my cliffies! Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews on the previous chapter! And I can't believe I still get lots of new alerts on this story! Kudos to all of you who still start reading this long, long, story! But I won't keep you all much longer... I think the next chapter might wrap it up (maybe there will also be an epilogue ;)... **

**Also thank you again, Shadowfaxangel, for your lovely comments on this one! As usual, lots of laughs!**

**So, I was quite happy with this chapter, I have to say. Now I just pray you will be too! I hope you're up for a fight... Enjoy! **

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><p><em><strong>"There would be no passion in this world if we never had to fight for what we love" – Quote by one Suzie Switzer<strong>_

_Previously on Shadowdancing:_

Elena froze, her breath trapped in her throat as his fangs cut into the delicate skin of her neck, making the blood flow. The pain was enough to shock her out of her daze. When he started drinking, she uttered a low moan and tried to get away from him by pressing her back to the wall as if she wanted to disappear right through it, but Stefan's hold was strong, and he inexorably pulled her back towards him.

Suddenly there was a flash of surprise in his eyes, and he slumped against her, dragging her body down with his as he fell. At first she thought her vervain dart had worked, a little belatedly, but then she saw Damon, kneeling down next to his brother, pushing down the plunger of another syringe in Stefan's lower back.

She hastily scrambled out from underneath Stefan's limp body, sitting down on the floor because her knees were shaking too much from the shock, and said with a heartfelt sigh, "Thank you, Damon. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't gotten there in time..."

Damon's voice was strangely flat as he replied, "That's me. Your trusty bodyguard…"

She crawled over to him, wanting to touch, needing to find comfort, but the shoulder under her hand was rock hard, and he refused to look at her. She felt a sense of unease prickling down the back of her neck.

"Damon?" She asked, her voice wavering from the tears that threatened to fall. Now that it was over and Stefan was unconscious, the adrenalin was flowing out of her body, and she started feeling like a wrung out rag.

Damon shrugged off her hand, and stood. His clothes were torn and bloody, but he seemed mostly healed now. He bent over to lift Stefan's limp body in his arms and said, his voice devoid of emotion, "Don't worry, Elena. I will lock him up and dry him out for you. You can have him back as soon as he remembers you're not a happy meal on legs."

Before she could open her mouth to ask what he meant, there was a breeze of air and Damon was gone, taking Stefan with him.

She remained sitting on the floor, staring at nothing in particular. What was the matter with him? A soft sound intruded on her dark thoughts, and she raised her head to look around. Then she remembered... Caroline! She'd completely forgotten about Caroline!

When Elena scrambled to her feet, she saw Caroline doing the same on the other side of the room, and she hurried towards her friend. Caroline was gazing ruefully at her ruined dress, torn where the stake had gone in and out again. The pale skin shimmering through the hole in the fabric seemed to have knitted together well.

As soon as Elena approached, Caroline's head snapped up, and she flung out a warning hand to stop her from coming closer. "Whoa, Elena. Hold it right there!" She exclaimed, and Elena halted in her tracks abruptly, her mouth opening in surprise.

Caroline pointed at Elena's neck, and grumbled curtly, "You're bleeding. I think you'd better keep your distance right now, or I might be tempted to snack on you."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Elena took a step back, shoulders drooping. She clapped a hand to her neck, and it came away red and sticky. Only now that she'd been reminded of it, did she feel the sting of Stefan's bite.

Caroline looked at her downcast expression, and huffed, "For heaven's sake, Elena! You know what I am. And I've been hurt badly, so I will have to feed soon. But I'm not your blood junkie boyfriend, so I'm trying to refrain from turning _you_ into my dinner."

Elena looked up, hope rekindling in her eyes, "Yes, I understand. Maybe that was the reason Damon got out of here so fast too..."

"You don't _really_ believe that, do you?" Caroline shook her head at Elena's naivety. Her hunger for blood made her sound somewhat impatient when she said, "I never met a vampire who controlled his bloodlust as well as Damon does. If he doesn't want to bite, he won't, no matter if he's standing in a _pool _of blood! I just hope I'll be able to achieve his level of control someday..."

"Then why did he leave in such a hurry?" Elena's voice sounded small. "He didn't even look at me..."

Caroline had dug up her regular clothing, and now she started stripping down to her underwear. Her dress was in shreds and she could hardly walk out like this... She paused to look at Elena, "Do I _really_ have to spell it out? With the way you got your flirt on, I think Damon figured you'd be bumping uglies with Stefan again before he could blink."

"But... but... I was _faking_ it!" Elena frowned, taken aback by Caroline's comment. "I want to help Stefan, but I have no intention of getting back together with him! I love _Damon_!"

Caroline slipped into her flowery little dress. Then she looked at Elena and raised one eyebrow, "Did you tell Damon that?"

"I was going to tell him as soon as..." She trailed off as she realized she'd only ever _implied_ to Damon that she'd break up with Stefan, but that she'd never actually _told_ him so.

"And what was with all the talk about roses?" Caroline asked, zipping herself up.

Elena pursed her lips, "Stefan has been paying some nightly visits to my room... That's when he left me a yellow rose."

"What? And you're okay with that? My, that's just plain creepy stalker-ish!"

"No, I'm _not _okay with that!" Elena glowered. How could Caroline think she'd be okay with something like that! "I just never _saw_ him! I intended to break up with him as soon as I had the chance to talk to him, but..."

Caroline interrupted her to say drily, "You call it breaking up, what you did tonight? You have a funny way of expressing yourself, Elena."

"Oh, God! I have to go talk to Damon, Care. I was only trying to save his outspoken butt! If he hadn't been taunting Stefan..." She looked at Caroline pleadingly.

Caroline made a shooing motion with her hand, and said gruffly, "What are you doing talking to me then? Go after him, Elena!"

"Right. Bye, Care! I'll be seeing you!" Elena whirled around, and grabbed her bag with her car keys. She was almost to the door, when she shouted over her shoulder, "Take care of yourself, okay?"

Caroline raised a hand in acknowledgement, and shook her head as Elena raced out of the door.

* * *

><p>Damon carried Stefan to the "dungeon" in the basement of the Salvatore Boarding house.<p>

"In you go, brother," He bit out, finding a ridiculous amount of gratification in chaining Stefan to the wall rather hard-handedly. Not that his brother would notice, because he was still knocked out. "Time to go cold turkey. You need to learn to behave yourself around our girl..."

"I suppose I should say _your_ girl," he amended, only to add with a growl, "... but also_ my lover_! God! When did everything get so screwed up… again?"

He slammed the door shut with more force than necessary, and shoved the bolt home, locking Stefan in for what he knew would be at least a month.

Before going upstairs, he made a little detour by the fridge in the next room so he could drain his last remaining bags of 'soccer mom' (at least that's what he told himself; the idea that he might be taking a sip of a dog-walking bald guy of sixty was enough to make him slightly queasy... Then again, that could be the lingering effects of the vervain too).

As he finished the second bag and threw the empty container in the bin, he heard the front door open and close. He should have known. Elena. She'd probably come to make sure her honey bun had been properly cared for and was still in possession of all his limbs and other dangly parts!

When he stalked into the parlor, arrogance wrapped around him like a cloak to hide the raw pain he felt inside, she was standing in front of the fireplace with her back to him. Her silky smooth, immensely graceful and very _bare_ back. Because she was still wearing the dress he'd bought her for the contest that seemed like ages ago already, and she still looked delicious enough to eat, damn her!

His voice was low with suppressed longing as he said, "You just can't stay away, can you?"

Cursing his traitorous body for stirring and obviously craving what it could no longer have, he changed direction abruptly, legging it over to the table that held the liquor bottles. He didn't bother with a glass; he just popped the cap off the bottle, set it to his mouth and took a good swig. He'd need a lot of booze to get him through the next few hours, days, maybe even months, so he might as well start in on it now. The sooner he was drunk as a skunk, the better.

At the sound of his voice, she whirled around. Her first impulse was to run to him and hug him tight (and then perhaps strip him of those damn tight trousers and have her wicked way with him, her mind added wistfully), but his carefully shuttered expression made her reconsider. So she just looked at him chugging down bourbon and asked incredulously, "Are you _drunk_ already?"

He hadn't intended to say anything; he was just going to ignore her until she went away… but as soon as he saw her disapproving face, his good intentions went right out of the window. "No!" He retorted without looking at her, "But give me a few hours and a crate of booze, and I'll get there yet!"

She approached him, eyeing him worriedly. "Are you okay? You got hurt pretty badly…" He was still wearing the same clothes, but his injuries seemed to be gone, as far as she could tell.

"I'm just _peachy_. Now that you've established that I'm not on my deathbed, would you please go away?" He mockingly toasted her with the liquor, "You're intruding on my date with Jack Daniels here…"

She flinched at his cold dismissal, but she didn't leave. Of course not. Did she ever do as he asked? He resisted the urge to back away, to hide from her searching eyes. She'd made her choice, and she'd chosen Stefan. Why was she so set on torturing him with her presence?

She extended a hand towards him entreatingly, "Damon. We should talk."

He wanted to refuse. He didn't feel like rehashing the whole 'I-love-Stefan-but-I'll-still-be-your-friend' speech that she was sure to foist on him any moment now… That's why he was shocked to hear himself say matter-of-factly, "You didn't seem all that surprised to see Stefan."

She averted her eyes to look at her feet, but he could swear he'd seen a flash of guilt in them. His remark hadn't really been a question, but she answered it anyway, "I knew he was back, but..."

"But you didn't see fit to tell me. Why not? You had plenty of opportunity! I called you every night!" His voice roughened as his throat constricted with panic at the thought that Stefan had been in Mystic Falls while he'd been miles away. She was so fragile, and he could've lost her so easily… "Why didn't you _tell _me, Elena? Why did you keep it a secret?"

His vehemence made Elena bristle in turn. "I'm not a _baby_, Damon," She huffed defensively. "I can take care of myself!"

"You can take care of yourself," He repeated flatly, and she nodded, her chin coming up in defiance.

Her stubborn disregard for her own safety made his anger flare even more, and he snarled, "Dammit, Elena! This isn't the Stefan you know! It isn't wannabe human Stefan! It's Stefan the Ripper! You haven't got a _clue _how to handle _him_!"

"I'd say I was handling him _just fine_," Elena was getting agitated, her voice rising along with her temper, "… until _you_ had to open your big mouth and ruin everything with your smart-ass remarks!"

They had gradually closed the distance between them, and now they were standing opposite each other, mere inches apart. The flames in the fireplace couldn't be hotter than Damon's eyes, Elena thought incongruously; she could feel the fury rolling off him in waves.

Damon knew he should leave well enough alone, but he just couldn't, and his fear for her life made him irrationally angry, "He could have _killed_ you, Elena! He's been gorging himself on the human stuff for _over a week _and it's been screwing with his head!"

"How do you know that?" Elena suddenly remembered Stefan's remark about the salsa club. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Did you see him before tonight?"

Damon's jaw clenched as he admitted reluctantly, "I cleaned up his mess at the salsa club. He was never what you'd call a dainty eater…" Raising the bottle to his lips, he gulped down another mouthful of whisky to rinse away the foul taste of old memories. It didn't work.

It was time Elena faced the truth, he thought. He was done with sugarcoating all of this! His voice sounded harsh when he said, "Then I spent five days following the trail of body parts he left up and down the eastern seaboard. It wasn't pretty, believe me! And all the while, he's been here, sniffing after you!" He turned around with a curse, and hurled the half-empty bottle towards the lit fireplace in a sudden burst of speed. There was a crash of breaking glass as the bottle exploded against the hearthstone, and the flames leaped, hungrily consuming the alcohol.

"You _knew_? You went after him?" Elena whispered. She hadn't picked up on anything but the fact that he'd _known_. Hurt that he hadn't confided in her, she snapped, "And you never told me! Dammit, Damon! Why not?"

"Pot, kettle, Elena?" The light of the fire danced erratically across his shadowed features as he faced her again. He raked one hand through his hair in irritation and shook his head, "You didn't tell me that Stefan was back either!"

"I didn't _see_ him before tonight, Damon!" Elena protested, "I just guessed from some ... things."

"Things like him leaving you roses?" Damon asked brusquely, gritting his teeth.

"Yes. But I didn't know for sure that he was off the rails!" Elena pursed her lips, conceding to herself that she had known that_ something _was the matter... but she wasn't about to admit it to Damon! She continued obstinately, "I still think you should have told me…"

"_Oh, no_! You don't get to do that, Elena. You don't get to blame this on _me_ while you come out smelling of roses! No pun intended!" He loomed over her, his eyes shooting blue fire at her unfair accusation. Elena suppressed the urge to take a step backwards; she'd never backed down from a confrontation with Damon before, and she wouldn't start now. My, but he was _hot_ when he was angry like this…

She blinked, suppressing the wayward thought and focusing again on what he was saying, "I_ tried _to tell you about Stefan, remember? But you wouldn't hear of it! 'No Stefan', you said. No drama, just a week of _fun and games_!"

"Can you blame me?" She retaliated heatedly, eyes flashing, even as she realized that he had the right of it. "I just wanted to forget my problems for a little while!"

Damon couldn't take his eyes off her. She was magnificent when she was angry, her chest heaving, her cheeks flushed and her eyes dark with indignation. The powerful surge of lust that shot straight to his groin and that he couldn't act upon, made him lash out at her, "_Great!_ That's all I'll ever be to you, isn't it?"

Her brow furrowed, and he went on, his voice heavily laced with sarcasm, "Elena needs a distraction? There's always _sexcapades_ with Damon Salvatore! Elena needs someone to save her life? Damon Salvatore to the rescue! But in the end, it will always be _Stefan_, right?"

Elena flushed hotly at his accusation, "No, Damon! It's _not_! I've..."

Damon interrupted her, jealousy burning like acid in the pit of his stomach. It was going to be even harder to give her up now that he'd had a taste of heaven in her arms, "You could have fooled me! You were coming on to him like a cat in heat!"

Elena's eyes widened and before she knew what she was about, she'd raised her hand and slapped his face. Hard. The sound of her palm on his cheek reverberated through the room, and she hissed, "You're a dick, Damon!"

He grabbed her shoulders, fingers biting into her flesh, and jerked her against his body so she couldn't slap him again. "I may be a dick, but at least I won't drain you dry! Unlike my brother, who's unstable and dangerous when he's on a blood rush. There's no reasoning with him when he's like this, Elena!"

"I_ know_!" She exclaimed in exasperation, "That's why I _wasn't_ trying to reason with him, Damon!"

Damon snorted, "No, you were trying to _seduce _him. That makes it _so_ much better! Couldn't wait for the happy reunion, could you?"

Elena looked up at him, glowering, "God, you're dense! Don't you _get_ it? I was trying to get him away from _you_! But of course you had to bait him and spoil everything!"

"Get him away from _me_? Why? He wasn't going to kill _me_, Elena. But he could very well have killed _you_!" Damon roared.

He could smell the half-dried blood on her neck, and it cut him to the quick. It served as a great reminder of his very obvious failure to protect her, even from his own brother. She was so close now that he was drowning in her scent and the smell of her blood, and he had to fight to keep his fangs from descending. But he forced them back, because he had more control than that. Didn't she understand that his brother had never learned _any_ control? He'd never been able to resist temptation! Imagine what would happen if temptation came in a pretty Elena-shaped package!

"Dammit!" He growled in frustration, raking a hand through his hair, and Elena felt a tingle in her womb in response to the delicious sound. God, she was pathetic. She was turned on by his anger. He looked so sexy with his hair all mussed… She wanted to run her hands through his hair and tousle it even more. Her distraction made her only half-focused on his words, "Why put yourself in danger to get him away from me?"

She replied without thinking. "Because I _love _you, you fool! I couldn't bear to see you get hurt anymore!" The words were out of her mouth before she could reconsider them. She snapped her mouth shut, eyes wide as she held her breath, waiting for his reaction.

Damon felt like he'd just been sucker punched. She'd completely floored him with her confession. He stared at her, this slip of a girl, this fragile, breakable human, who nonetheless held the strings to his heart in her slender fingers, and had the power to make or break him as no one ever had. He didn't know which of those she'd just done, and he didn't care. He'd figure it out later…

Wordlessly, he let go of her arms, his hands moving upwards. Her hair was still up, the glittering combs holding the heavy tresses in place atop her head. His deft fingers quickly located the combs and pulled them out without difficulty. They hit the floor with two hollow plunks, and her hair came tumbling down, the curls tickling her bare back as he sifted through it, running the glossy strands through his fingers.

He pulled her closer by tugging on her hair gently, and his voice was a low growl against her mouth, "If I'm a fool, I'm a fool for _love_, Elena! _God_, I love you!"

He crushed her hair between his fingers. That was all the warning Elena got before his mouth came crashing down to plunder hers. She parted her lips under his passionate assault, and his tongue invaded her mouth greedily, hungrily taking all she offered and more. It was no sweet kiss this time; his mouth ravaged hers as if he was starving, and she kissed him back just as savagely, her heart pounding in her chest.

The tension caused by the fight altered from one instant to the next. All the anger and frustration and fear they'd both suffered through with Stefan's attack were swept up into a tidal wave of burning desire that slammed into them with the force of a tsunami…

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><p><strong>AN: So, I hope you like their fight! I figured they should have at least one big row in this story LOL Please review and let me know if you liked it too? Pretty please?<strong>

**Now for my next question: I've been wondering if you'd like a follow-up of this smut-wise... I might just be tempted to write it, given the right signals, of course ;) **


	50. Love Lost in Love

**AN: First of all, a very happy New Year to all of you who are still reading this story! I will not be keeping you much longer, because this is essentially the last chapter… sort of, anyway ;) The title is once again, a song by the Belgian band Triggerfinger.**

**I'm so very sorry to have kept you waiting so long for this chapter! I wasn't satisfied with it****,**** and on top of that, as I already told some of you in my replies to your reviews, Damon and Elena insisted on some rather explicit stuff, which posed some problems for the T-rating. Therefore a little WARNING: the end is still quite suggestive, even if my wonderful beta Shadowfaxangel (thanks for that, my friend!) went through it and sort of edited the most explicit parts out…**

**On the smut-front: don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my promise to write a spin-off for the previous chapter! But I'm trying to integrate some of the explicit bits that got edited out of this chapter into that spin-off, since some of you wanted bloodsharing there… **

**And so, here's the fiftieth chapter! Enjoy…**

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><p>Elena woke up sometime during the night, curled up against Damon's side, his arm holding her close. She burrowed a little closer, enjoying the luxurious feeling of Damon's high-thread count sheets sliding against her bare skin. Then she squirmed. She didn't want to get out of bed, but she needed to pee. Well, there was nothing to it: she'd have to answer nature's call.<p>

She slid out of bed reluctantly, looking around for something to wear. She was just too self-conscious to go traipsing around completely naked. One of Damon's shirts was hanging on the chair next to the bed, and she shrugged it on, burying her nose in the fabric for a second, breathing in his familiar scent. Doing up some of the buttons, she snuck into the bathroom and switched on the light.

After taking care of business, she washed her hands and absently scratched the itch on the side of her neck, only to give a little yelp in pain when her nails unwittingly re-opened the scabs left by Stefan's bite.

She turned to the tall mirror hanging on the wall to take a closer look at the self-inflicted damage on her neck, tilting her head to peer at the torn skin. If the TV-shows had to be believed, a vampire's bite looked like nothing more than two small holes in your flesh, but this was much messier; the teeth marks left by Stefan's incisors weren't anything like those neat little pinpricks at all...

As she was observing herself in the mirror, there was a sudden movement at her back, and Damon materialized behind her, watching her with a guarded look on his face. He wore only his black drawstring pants - but those he wore really, really well... Her mouth watered at the sight of all the bare skin he was displaying. She sighed when the mirror showed her the toned muscles rippling under firm skin.

"Can I see?" He asked carefully, indicating that he wanted to take a look at her neck.

When Elena nodded, he gently brushed her hair over her other shoulder, and fractionally pulled down the collar of the shirt. Elena shivered as his cool fingers touched her sensitized flesh.

Damon misinterpreted her shiver, "Does it hurt?"

"N-no, not really," She craned her neck and tried to see, "It looks ugly, doesn't it?"

"You want me to heal it?" Soft fingers danced across the downy skin of her neck, and her breath hitched as her belly clenched in anticipation.

"It's not that big a deal. It will remind me that I shouldn't have underestimated him..." She trailed off, and their eyes locked in the mirror, "I never thought he'd do it, Damon. I never imagined… that he'd want to hurt me like that..."

Damon looked contrite, "I'm so sorry, Elena. In my brother's defense, I should probably mention that he didn't _mean _to hurt you..." He looked down, staring at his fingers playing with a strand of her auburn hair, "… but I should have realized what he intended all along. I should have stopped him before he could do it."

Elena had to strain her ears to hear his apologetic whisper, in spite of his mouth being so close to her ear. She shook her head slightly, "You couldn't have known, Damon. And you shouldn't think I blame you in any way! It's my own fault for being too trusting of Stefan when I knew something was off."

He twirled the lock of hair around his finger and used it to stroke her ear, hesitating for a fraction of a second before saying honestly, "No, I should have known."

When she opened her mouth to deny it, he was quick to put a finger to her lips, still gazing at her in the mirror. Shadows clouded his blue eyes as he murmured, "There's something we need to talk about, Elena. Something Stefan and I should have told you before now..."

His hand was slowly stroking down her side in a gentle caress that was meant to be comforting, but her body didn't see it that way. She could feel goose bumps rising all over her skin in response to his touch, and she let herself sink back against him. His breath tickled her ear, and she gazed into the mirror, spellbound by the sheer eroticism of their reflection, all her senses attuned to the smooth glide of his hands over his own shirt, down to her legs, where he found her bare skin…

Damon had been staring at the mirror absentmindedly, his fingers idly drawing geometrical patterns on her skin. He hadn't really been paying attention because he was pondering how to best broach the sensitive subject that he needed to discuss with her. Only when the sweet scent of her arousal suddenly hit his nose did he look at her more closely. Awareness washed over him when he noticed that her eyes had lost their focus, her heart rate had accelerated and her breathing had turned shallow.

He hadn't fed more last night, because he needed to go out and get himself a new supply of blood bags first thing in the morning. But after the serious injuries his body had sustained the day before, he would need to feed again pretty soon... The combination of her arousal mixed with the heady tang of her blood from the bleeding punctures at her neck proved too much for him. Instinct took over, making him hard instantly, while at the same time he felt the sharp sting of his fangs as they nicked his bottom lip. God, but he wanted her so very much, her body, her blood, all of her, forever...

When he felt his control unraveling, he let go of her as if she'd burned him, and hastily took a step back, whirling around to get himself away from the irresistible temptation of Elena. His jaw tightened and he inhaled deeply through his nose in a futile attempt to force his features back to normal. But it didn't work, because the air seemed positively saturated with her delicious scent, and her racing heartbeat sounded incredibly loud in his ears, causing his senses to short-circuit.

He was just about to get the hell out of the room, and maybe even out of the house, so he could find himself some blood to subdue the craving, when a butterfly touch on his bare back indicated that Elena was standing right behind him. He froze, registering every touch like a trail of fire.

Elena had seen the transformation in the mere moment it had taken Damon to turn his back on her. Unlike yesterday, when Stefan's face had scared her out of her wits, she wasn't afraid now. She turned away from the mirror and extended one hand, her fingertips skimming the taut skin of Damon's back, and felt him tense. After a millisecond's hesitation, she said very softly, "You need to feed." It wasn't a question, nor was it a statement; it was something in between.

"Yes," He gritted out between clenched teeth. Feeling the need to explain his uncharacteristic lack of control, he added, "It's because of yesterday... but I need to go out first, get some blood..."

Before he could move away from her, she tugged his arm insistently, "Damon..."

"Don't say it, Elena," He growled, interrupting her tersely, knowing what she intended to say. But he wanted to keep her from saying it out loud, because if she did offer him her blood, he didn't know if he would be strong enough to refuse, and he didn't want her to offer out of some misplaced sense of obligation or guilt. He wanted the first time he truly drank from her to be something she really, really wanted...

She tugged again, harder this time, her nails biting into his unyielding flesh, and she said the words anyway, "Damon, I want you to take some of my blood..."

He groaned, her words so tantalizing that he could almost taste her divine essence exploding on his tongue, "Don't, Elena!" He pulled away from her half-heartedly, moving towards the door, intent on getting out of the room.

Surprisingly, Elena was quicker. She darted around him, racing out of the bathroom and to the door, fumbling to turn the key in the lock. Then she pulled it out, threw it somewhere in the vicinity of the bed and leaned her back against the door defiantly, a mischievous little smile tugging up one corner of her mouth.

He turned his head to follow the key's trajectory, having no trouble locating it in the dim light of the flames flickering in the fireplace.

"That's not going to stop me getting out, Elena," He said, still staring at the rumpled bed, slowly forcing his face back to normal by sheer strength of will. He succeeded in pushing the bloodlust back only because they were no longer within the close confines of the bathroom, and her alluring scent was less overpowering now.

"I know that!" Elena said, flipping her hair over one shoulder to keep it from sticking to the blood on her neck, but at the same time cleverly exposing the gracious column of her throat. It was almost as if she was taunting him on purpose, as if she really _wanted_ him to bite her... How could she want that, after what'd happened just the day before?

"Don't be silly, Damon," Elena continued relentlessly, "Just take a little, at least! I know you won't hurt me the way Stefan did!" She figured that had to be the main reason that he didn't want to bite her.

"It's not that, Elena!" He knew he was staring at her, unable to resist the lure of her plastered against his door, wearing his shirt... God, but she was beautiful, tempting as a siren, and just as irresistible.

"Then what is it? I want you to take my blood, because I _love_ you. Why won't you do it?" She insisted, her voice quivering with emotion. Why was he so adamantly refusing her?

Her heart skipped a beat when he was suddenly very close, one hand on either side of her face, crowding her against the door, his blue eyes fiercely intent on hers, "Because you don't know what you're offering me, Elena!"

Elena frowned. She heard him, but she didn't understand. Damon knew he'd have to explain. Chances were that she wouldn't be able to get out fast enough once she truly got it.

"If I bite you now, it's going to be with intent!" He ground out, and when she opened her mouth to speak, he shook his head and leaned in closer, effectively silencing her. His voice turned into a growl that she felt all the way to her toes, "It means that I'm going to _claim_ you..."

She looked at him silently, and he went on, "Stefan never did that, Elena, but it's what he_ intended _to do yesterday..." She swallowed and looked down, remembering the possessive light in Stefan's eyes the day before.

Damon cupped her cheek and gently rubbed his thumb over her lips before continuing, "He drank from you with the intent of claiming you for his own. He didn't quite succeed, but if I drink your blood now, after last night... Consider this fair warning, my love. I'm not going to be able to keep from doing the same."

She looked up again, and he could feel his gums aching, but he wouldn't allow his canines to drop. His voice deepened when he concluded, "You will be _mine_, Elena. For as long as you live..."

Elena surprised him once again. Instead of bolting as he half expected her to do, he could hear her heartbeat pick up speed, as if the idea excited her. Wordlessly she brought her hands up to thread her fingers through his hair. Then she pulled his head down almost forcefully and guided him towards the twin punctures in her neck as she said breathlessly, "I'm already yours, Damon. For as long as you'll have me..."

He groaned. There was no gainsaying her apparently, so he gave in. She'd been duly warned, and he wanted to taste her so very much... His fangs slipped into place again.

He felt her muscles tensing up as she braced herself for the double wasp sting of his teeth slicing her flesh. So he lowered his head and just licked the bleeding wounds, his tongue softly running over her skin, slowly lapping up the blood that was already there.

She squirmed and grumbled, "Just _do_ it, Damon! I don't care if it hurts!" The anticipation was becoming almost too much to bear. What he was doing felt absolutely amazing, but if it was going to be as painful as it had been yesterday, she'd rather just have it over and done with...

He pulled back and she looked into his red-rimmed eyes as he gave her an almost smug smile, fully back in charge now that he was no longer having to fight himself. "Remember the salsa bar, Elena? If we're going to do this, we might as well do it _right_! At least I can make you enjoy this..." He waggled his eyebrows teasingly, "And if you're going to be mine, you'd better start listening to me!"

An adorable furrow creased her brow, "If I'm yours, does that mean that you're mine too?"

He smirked at the hopeful tone of her voice, "Nope. But you can accept my claim and turn it into a full-fledged bond. We'll talk about that later..." If she was already willing to allow him to claim her, that was more than enough for now. He didn't want to push his luck by talking to her about willingly drinking vampire blood, his blood. He'd already forced it on her once with disastrous results, and since she'd refused his earlier offer to heal her...

"Just relax, Elena…" His lips latched onto her pulse point and he sucked as if he wanted to give her a hickey, drawing more blood to the surface. His fangs gently scraped her skin, but he was careful to avoid the abrasions that were already there.

She shivered violently, her bottom lip catching between her teeth. His breath was cool on her burning skin as he whispered, "Do you trust me?"

Her nails dug into his shoulders as she gave a tiny whimper, "Yes..."

"Then you know I won't hurt you. I love you, Elena," He murmured, his hands sliding down her sides and easily slipping underneath her shirt.

His fingers on her bare skin made her arch against him with a soft sigh, "_Please_, Damon..."

His voice low and possessive, he purred, "You're _mine_ now, Elena," right before he sank his teeth into her flesh, exactly over Stefan's bite, as if he wanted to erase every trace of it.

As soon as the warm flow of her blood hit his tongue, he closed his eyes, savoring every sip of the heavenly ambrosia that was Elena's blood. Drink of the gods... that seemed like a fitting description, for Elena represented his very own idea of paradise. He'd fantasized about this so often that he could hardly believe that it was finally happening for real. Even though he wanted to drink her in with big gulps, he forced himself to go slow, to focus on Elena's pleasure first and foremost.

Elena's lips parted in surprise as the initial sting faded and desire flooded her body in a rush, making her feel hot and tingly all over. Her breath came in sharp gasps as the tension quickly built inside of her, mounting fast with every slow draw, and she swayed slightly, her knees no longer supporting her weight.

Damon drew her flush against his body and slid one leg in between her thighs, just like he'd done in her dream, the dream that seemed a lifetime ago already. The sense of belonging was overwhelming, as if they'd done this many times before. Elena rubbed herself against Damon urgently, her nails raking his back. He didn't mind at all; he just wanted to pull her closer, pull her inside of him if he could.

His hands came away from the door, and he cupped her bottom, raising her up higher and pinning her with her back against the door. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding on tight as he kept drinking her in. Her eyes were half-closed and unfocused, intent as she was on just _feeling_ what he was doing to her. The sexy little sounds of encouragement she emitted, made him so hard it hurt, and he desperately wanted to make love to her.

In spite of the haze of bloodlust mixed with just plain old lust that clouded his brain, he instantly noticed the moment her heart skipped a beat, and he knew that he would have to stop drinking if he didn't want to take too much. But it was the hardest thing he'd ever done: she was more intoxicating than the best liquor he'd ever had, and by her reaction, he knew that she was more than enjoying it.

He had to force himself to withdraw his fangs and licked the cuts closed with his silky tongue.

Elena's eyelids fluttered and she mewled in protest, her hands tightening in his hair as she tried to keep him at her neck with a whimper, "_More_, Damon! Don't stop!"

Damon ran his tongue over his lips, removing the last traces of blood on his mouth before answering, "No, Elena. I have to stop for now. You already lost blood yesterday..." His voice was hoarse with suppressed desire, rife with emotions.

"Don't wanna..." Elena mumbled. "Need you _now_!"

In case he hadn't understood what she meant, her hands started groping between their bodies to claw at the drawstring of his pants. After some frantic fumbling, she got the knot untied, and the loose-fitting pants dropped to his ankles, much to Elena's satisfaction.

The thought flashed through Damon's mind that she truly was his perfect mate. Her blood had satisfied one kind of craving, but it had increased another hunger hundredfold. He choked out, "God, yes, Elena, I want you so much!" right before crushing his lips to hers again, kissing her passionately. The world fell away when their bodies finally merged, joined in the oldest dance of all time.

He wanted to feel more of her, but his questing fingers met with the shirt she was still wearing, even if it had ridden up to expose part of her stomach. He tugged at it irritably. When it didn't give, he lost all patience with it. He hooked his hand in the neck of the shirt and ripped. In a single movement, all the buttons were gone.

She hissed when his cool fingers made contact with her heated skin. Her hands came up to cup his cheeks, and she gave him an openmouthed, frantic kiss, nipping at his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood, but instead of pulling back as he'd expected her to, she sucked the little drop of blood into her mouth, trying to get more, but the tiny wound had already closed up.

Her eyes were half-closed as she asked him in a breathless whisper, "Can I taste you too, Damon? Please?"

He almost lost it right then and there.

He couldn't trust himself to speak right now, because his mind had gone completely blank at her question. He just turned hastily, holding her firmly to him, and without breaking their connection, he rushed them towards his bed, fumbling to open the top drawer of his nightstand and extracting a sharp knife. His weight pressed her into the mattress, motionless for a moment, and she dug her heels into his butt, urging him closer.

"Elena, are you sure?" He whispered, his eyes locked onto her flushed face. "It would mean an unbreakable bond…"

She opened her eyes fully, the pupils almost black with yearning, and nodded, "Yes. Yes, I'm sure. Please?"

He raised the knife, drawing it along the side of his neck, making his blood flow slow and sluggish. The knife clattered to the floor as she let out an almost ferocious growl, her eyes fixed on the vermilion drops that appeared on his alabaster skin. She used her tongue to tentatively lick the shallow cut, and his eyes drifted shut at the incredible sensation of her lips on his skin, knowing that she was drinking his blood, and doing it _willingly_.

Elena didn't know what she'd expected Damon's blood to taste like. And even now that she was actually tasting him, she couldn't have described exactly what the flavor was like, but it was a far cry from the metallic taste of her own blood. It was thicker and sweeter, and even a few drops of it went straight to her head, making her feel almost high. She wanted more. So she sucked harder, trying to milk the shallow wound he'd made for all it was worth.

A sexy purr rumbled in Damon's chest as she drank from him, and he felt his need for her spiral out of control. He started moving again, and she clung to him, her teeth still nibbling his neck. As if the blood exchange had fine-tuned the way their bodies reacted to one another, they reached their peak at the same time, the waves of ecstasy that started in Elena's body seemingly rolling through Damon and back, creating its own little cycle of blissful feedback.

It was beautiful and it was just _perfect_. It was the ultimate dance.

When they collapsed onto the bed, Damon gathered her close. Elena snuggled into him with a secret little smile curving her lips and a soft whisper, "Now you're mine too..."

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><p><strong>AN: Like I said, I've been dithering about posting this chapter, mainly because I wasn't fully satisfied with it as the end of this story. I know there are still some loose ends to tie up, which is why I will try to write an epilogue… Let me know if you liked it at all? You know I love your wonderful reviews!<strong>


	51. Epilogue: The Birthday Party

**AN: I'm very, very sorry for leaving you hanging like this! It was almost as if my brain decided that the story was finished, and couldn't be bothered to give up anything more. But since so many of you asked for an epilogue, and I really wanted to write one, here goes: the epilogue. I hope some of you are actually still out there to read this... **

**Also, a big hug to my dear beta Shadowfaxangel for making this long journey with me! And to my readers, a warm call to read Shadowfaxangel's first story. Please, check it out and leave her a kind word! **

**Especially for kjewls, as a thanks for her amazing, always inspiring reviews, I put in an actual Dawson's Creek quote somewhere in here ;) I know how much you love your parallels, Julie!**

**And so, here's the epilogue to Shadowdancing... Enjoy, one last time! **

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><p><em>The next morning...<em>

When Elena left the boarding house, dressed in clothes she'd been lucky enough to have scrounged up in Stefan's room, her phone started playing the Kesha-song that Caroline had put in Elena's phone especially for her. She fished the phone out of her bag, and noticed that she had about 10 unread textmessages. Oops.

As soon as she held the phone to her ear, she heard a high-pitched squeak, "_Finally! _You couldn't have let me know you were okay? I sent you like a gazillion messages!"

"Uh... I was kind of busy..." Elena felt herself blushing. It was lucky that Caroline couldn't see her face.

But Caroline wouldn't be Caroline if she didn't immediately go for the heart of the matter. There was a clear note of amusement in her voice when she said, "Hmm, I _see_! So you and Damon made with the hot make-up sex _all_ night, and you just forgot about everything else?"

"Um... First we had the mother of all fights, but yeah, I guess you could say we kissed and made up," Elena admitted, then added mischievously, "Several times, to be exact..."

Caroline giggled at Elena's uncharacteristic lack of discretion, "He's _good_, isn't he?"

Way to be reminded that Caroline had been there, done that too. Elena scowled and muttered, "Please, Caroline! A _friend _with a good memory is quite insupportable in this case!"

"What can I say? The compulsion wore off when I died! I can't help but remember stuff, you know," Caroline said candidly before changing the subject, "Anyways, it's good that you picked up this time, because I was almost on my way over to check on you. When you didn't answer your phone, I was starting to think Damon might really have eaten you!"

"Well..." Elena chuckled at Caroline's choice of words, her hand drifting unconsciously up to her neck to touch the bite marks that had healed completely, courtesy of Damon's blood.

Elena heard Caroline's swift intake of breath before she asked suspiciously, "You let him feed from you?"

"What if I did? He's got it under control, Care!" Elena protested.

"I suppose, but… um… It seems there's more to biting than just the feeding, Lena..." Caroline cautioned.

"I know. Damon told me," Elena hesitated for a fraction of a second. "I _really_ wanted him to do it, Care. It was amazing..." Her voice turned dreamy, "... and _he_ tasted so... I never thought..."

"What? You so _didn't!"_ Caroline squealed so loud that Elena had to hold the phone away from her ear. "He made you drink his blood?"

Elena replied softly, "I asked, Care. I wanted to. So, so much. And he made me fly to the moon and back... It was just that kind of feeling."

Caroline was silent for a moment, taking it all in, "So, are you guys now like... the fangy equivalent of married?"

Elena thought about that for a moment, "Hmm, I don't know if I'd go that far, but I guess that we do have some kind of bond now…" Then she conceded with a smile, "Well, until death do us part... That bit seems to be the same. One way or another, that's when the bond breaks anyway."

"Um... I suppose congratulations are in order then?" Caroline inquired uncertainly. Then she snickered, "Hey, you should throw a party! Invite some friends! Cut the cake!"

"Caroline!" Elena warned. She could almost hear the wheels turning in Caroline's head.

Caroline sulked a little, "But it's been so long since I got to organize a nice, big party..."

Elena considered. Perhaps she'd better throw Caroline a bone? She'd never hear the end of this otherwise... "Um, Care, why don't you throw me a birthday party instead?"

"But your birthday is still two months away!"

Elena laughed, "That should give you sufficient time to plan. I'll be expecting to celebrate my coming of age with a bang!"

"And so you shall!" Caroline exclaimed, already mentally compiling the guest list.

"Can we have dancing too?" Elena cajoled.

Caroline gave a hoot, "_Dancing_? Don't you mean sexy times on the dance floor with one Damon Salvatore? I'm sure that can be arranged!"

She sobered suddenly, "Remember when I warned you about Damon, before the contest? I was right, wasn't I? You didn't stand a chance… While you were busy watching your feet, Damon just danced his way into your heart..."

Elena merely smiled.

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><p><em>Two months later…<em>

"So… Stefan is really gone this time," Caroline mused as she handed the piece of paper back to Elena after perusing it carefully.

The final days of August were upon them now, and the weather had decided to make an effort for Elena's birthday party. It was a sultry evening, and the air was humid with the first traces of autumn, turning the sliver of moon and the starry sky over Mystic Falls slightly blurry.

Caroline and Elena were sitting alone on barstools at the bar that had been improvised on the flagstone terrace leading off the Salvatore Boarding House, waiting for people to arrive for the party that Caroline had singlehandedly put together. There was food, drinks (liberally spiked with liquor, courtesy of a little compulsion by Caroline) and even a real salsa band. Caroline had had all summer to plan, and she'd gone all out on this one.

Elena silently accepted the thick, slightly off-white sheet of paper, her eyes scanning the curly handwriting that filled it. Not that she hadn't read the letter enough times by now to know its contents by heart…

_My dearest Elena, _

_First of all, I need to apologize for leaving without saying goodbye to you. Again. I thought it was for the best. I never wanted to cause you pain; and yet I still ended up hurting your fragile body and your beautiful soul. I couldn't face you with that knowledge, because nothing I can say or do will ever make it right. I do not dare ask for your forgiveness, even if I still hope you might be willing to forgive me someday. _

_For now, I'm taking a page from Damon's book. I'm going to try and learn how to control my bloodlust, because I can no longer allow it to control me. It's something I should have done a long time ago. Like a 150 years ago. But it seems I've had to learn my lesson the hard way. It took losing you to make me finally understand what Damon has been telling me for so long now. A vampire drinks human blood. It's who we are; it's in our nature. _

_It's time I came to terms with the fact that I am no longer human, that I will never be human again, no matter what I do. For the longest time, I tried to hang on to my humanity by pretending to be as human as I possibly could, because I thought nobody would ever be able to love a vampire. We aren't very lovable creatures…_

_But Damon never tried to hide his true nature. And yet you love him, despite the fact that he's a vampire; maybe you even love him a little because of it? And he loves you. Never doubt that, Elena. _

_However much it pains me to admit it, you loving Damon can only mean one thing… I was wrong. It's not __what__ you are that makes you unlovable; it's __who__ you are…_

_I will always regret losing you__, but I have only myself to blame. Don't think I don't deserve this, because I do. Fate has finally dealt me the hand that I've had coming. I forced my brother to turn, thereby taking away his chance to choose this life for himself. It's strangely fitting that, even being a vampire, he turned out to be the better man in the end. __Whereas I, who entered into this sorry state with my eyes wide open, have been blind ever since, and it has cost me everything. I see that now. I tried to be something that I am not; I never gave you a chance to get to know the real me. I only showed you the mask of Stefan Salvatore, the vampire who would be human… What an epic failure he turned out to be. He was never real…_

_Let's face it. I can't change what I am. I'll be a vampire for all eternity, and I will have to learn to accept all that that entails: the never-ending rollercoaster ride of emotions, the insatiable hunger, the incessant craving for human blood… The idea of living forever is simply insupportable if I can't learn how to control all that. Being in control would mean I can feed without killing, that I don't __have__ to kill if I don't __want__ to. _

_It's possible. Damon knows how to do it; he's a vampire who drinks human blood, but he's choosing not to kill for it. He's doing it for you, Elena. But whatever the reason, I want to be able to make that choice too. I want to change who I am, so I can finally stop living a lie. I want to get rid of this counterfeit facade of humanity that no longer fits me, and learn to just be myself, Stefan Salvatore, vampire. I know it will be hard, but I have no choice. I have to change; otherwise, I might as well take off my ring and meet the dawn. _

_So this is where we part ways, Elena. I'm leaving Mystic Falls, maybe not forever, but at least for a long, long time. I'll understand if you never want to see me again, and I'll respect your wish. But if you should ever change your mind, just ask Damon. He'll know where to find me. I wish you all the happiness in the world, and remain,_

_Forever yours, _

_Stefan Salvatore_

"Elena?" Caroline interrupted Elena's thoughts as she sat staring blankly at Stefan's letter. "Do you really think he's gone for good this time?"

Elena replied quietly, "Looks like it..."

"Hey, birthday girl! Why so glum? You've been complaining for over a month that it was all kinds of _weird_ having him locked in the basement at the boarding house. Well, he's not there any longer; you and Damon can get as loud as you want now," Caroline said with a wink, taking a sip of her girly-colored drink and deftly avoiding the pink cocktail parasol.

Elena blushed and chided softly, "You know that wasn't the only reason I was uncomfortable, Care."

Caroline pursed her lips at Elena's soft-spoken words, "I _know_, Elena. But you have to admit that it's awkward… Having an ex with majorly upgraded hearing in the house is bound to put a serious _damper_ on your love life with his brother… in every meaning of the word."

When Elena looked at her crossly, Caroline looked a little contrite and said, "Sorry, sorry! You know me. My mouth has a tendency to be quicker than my brain. So why aren't you happier that he's gone?"

"I'm not sure. I think I'm just surprised that he went off without a word..." Elena replied uncertainly, not sure whether she really would have wanted to see Stefan before he left.

Caroline raised an eyebrow, "You could always have gone into the basement and talked to him, you know. He wasn't exactly _going_ anywhere. Why wait until he's gone to let your conscience get the better of you?"

"I _know,"_ Elena grumbled, annoyed at herself. "I just couldn't bring myself to go and see him, figuring he'd be there another day. And now, suddenly, he's gone and I..." She trailed off.

Caroline watched her for a second, then said kindly, "And you worry about what he's going to do now that he wants to learn how to embrace his inner vampire..."

"I guess," Elena admitted with a shrug. "I'd feel better just knowing where he is, though."

Caroline squirmed on her stool and pointed at the letter, "You can always ask Damon. It says here that he knows, right?"

"Yes, but I don't want to ask him," Elena fiddled with the fabric of her white dress and avoided Caroline's gaze. "He still gets a little growly whenever I bring his brother up in the conversation, so I'd rather avoid that particular topic for the time being…"

Caroline was silent for a moment. Then she seemed to suddenly make up her mind. In a whisper that was so quiet that Elena almost didn't understand, she said, "Cuba... He's gone to Cuba."

Elena's eyes widened as she processed that information. When she found her voice again, she exclaimed, "_Cuba_? How do you know?"

Caroline's face fell a little. She fidgeted and looked away from Elena, who extended her hand to lay it on Caroline's leg comfortingly, "Hey, Care, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you, and I'm glad you told me. I was just a little surprised that you… I mean..."

Caroline looked up and searched Elena's face before replying quietly, "He told me when he came to my house last night, to ... to apologize. He said he'd always liked me, and that he was sorry for what he did to me ... that night," She bit her bottom lip, worrying it between pearly white teeth before continuing, "He thanked me for helping Damon take care of him while he was... um... "

She trailed off, unsure how to refer to Stefan's recent bout in the Salvatore's basement, and Elena patted her hand, "It's okay. You did do that, even after what he did to you, so he _should_ be thanking you..." She thought about that for a moment, then frowned, "Why _Cuba_ though?"

Caroline expelled a relieved breath, glad that Elena seemed genuinely okay with it. She really must have moved on from Stefan then. Her impish smile quickly returning to her lips, she said lightly, "He's gone there to take dancing lessons..."

Elena's mouth fell open this time. Finally she spluttered, "You've got to be kidding me!"

Caroline laughed out loud at Elena's incredulous expression and her voice was filled with mirth as she confirmed, "_Nope_. He said that it obviously worked for his brother, so he wanted to see whether it might not do something for him too. Besides, he needs something to take his mind off the bloodlust while he learns how to control it."

"That's true, I guess, but... _dancing_? He said he hated to be on public display!" Elena was still not buying it.

Caroline shrugged, "Perhaps that was the _old_ Stefan? I'm sure Carmencita will be able to- "

Elena interrupted her at the mention of the pretty salsa teacher, "Whoa! What? _Carmencita_? What does she have to do with anything?"

Caroline smirked, "Damon suggested that Stefan pay her a visit. It seems that she knows about… " Caroline looked about her, but even though they were still alone on the terrace, she discreetly pointed at her teeth, "… and _she_ said that if she couldn't have one Salvatore, she'd gladly make do with the other…"

Elena shook her head, unsure how she was supposed to feel about that. Unbidden, a tiny smile curved her lips as she imagined starchy Stefan being ordered about by the curvy, vivacious salsa teacher. She'd give him a run for his money, that one! Perhaps Damon was right in sending Stefan there? Only time would tell, but she did feel better knowing that Stefan wasn't just brooding in a dark corner somewhere alone.

Caroline watched the expressions flit across Elena's face. When Elena finally looked up again, she seemed prepared to accept the situation, and Caroline remarked, "So, that leaves the path wide open for you and Mr Sexy Salvatore to walk into the sunset together, hmm? How's that working out for you by the way? You seem happy..."

Elena's expression took on a faraway look, and she smiled dreamily, "Oh, I am. I never thought..."

Caroline suddenly looked behind Elena and breathed, "Oh, boy…"

Elena started, "What?"

Caroline kept looking over Elena's shoulder, her smile growing wider. She chuckled, "Oh, just enjoying the view…"

Elena turned around to the glorious sight of a dark-haired, dark-clad man in closefitting leather pants and a figure hugging black t-shirt sauntering up to them, a cocky grin on his lips.

"Hello, Elena, Caroline. See something you like?" Damon purred as he halted before them with toothy smile.

"Mmm, yummy leather pants. For me?" Elena murmured, her eyes fixed on the gleaming leather.

"That's my cue to leave," Caroline quickly slid off the barstool and disappeared without another word.

"All for you, " Damon said in reply to Elena's question. He looked down and plucked her hand from her lap, lazily raising it to his mouth. She licked her lips when he flipped it around and pressed his lips to the inside of her wrist, right over her crazily racing pulse. Her eyes widened when she felt his warm tongue lightly graze her skin.

His eyes lowered, long lashes brushing his cheeks, but Elena's gaze was unblinkingly trained on him, as unable to tear herself away as if she'd been hypnotized. Damon went on to languidly kiss the palm of her hand, causing a flutter in the pit of her stomach that felt like a thousand butterflies had taken up residence there and were fighting to get out.

When he suddenly looked up at her from underneath his lashes, his eyes were hot. The impact of those piercing baby blues was like a physical caress as he murmured, "Happy birthday, my love..."

His thumb was rubbing slow circles in her palm, and she could feel herself slowly melting as warm tingles spread through her body. He pulled on her hand, very gently, as if he wanted to draw her in, and she leaned forward, entranced. Their mouths met and fused together, and they exchanged a strangely dreamlike kiss, a sweetly intense meeting of lips, hearts and minds. His other hand cupped her jaw, and he leaned into the kiss, his tongue slipping into her warm mouth...

Her eyes drifted closed, and her free hand came up of its own accord, to wrap around his neck, bringing him closer to deepen the kiss that made her hungry for more, much, much more. Her mind started to drift, imagining stripping Damon's toned body of his t-shirt, placing a trail of kisses down his chest, all the way down to those leather pants that fit so tight they seemed almost spray painted onto his body…

The sound of an amused cough broke them out of their intimate cocoon. Elena blinked as she felt Damon draw away from her, and for a moment she was confused, having lost track of where she was for a while. Then reality snapped back into place...

Her birthday party. She looked around her, to see that they were suddenly surrounded by smiling, familiar faces. There was Caroline, once more sitting on the barstool next to her, a Cheshire cat smile on her lips as she watched them. Ric, winking conspiratorially at Damon as he casually slung one arm around Jenna's shoulders; a Jenna who was clearly still undecided on where she stood on the topic of her now-ex-ward's new boyfriend. Jeremy, long limbs slightly awkward as he lounged against the bar and surreptitiously tried to catch blushing Bonnie's eye (what _was_ going on there?). Matt and Tyler hanging further back, both of them seemingly vying for Caroline's attention (what was going on _there_?)...

All eyes were on her, and Elena blushed profusely at the way she'd completely forgotten about her surroundings. To think she'd been imagining... Oh, god! She was shameless. Not that Damon was entirely without blame, since his mere presence was enough to turn her on, and one look at the smirking devil by her side told her that he was very well aware of it!

Her high color didn't really diminish as she accepted all the birthday hugs and kisses, because too many of her friends were wearing entirely too knowing smirks, as if they could all read her mind and knew exactly that her naughty brain had been about to stray into NC-17 territory…

When all the birthday wishes had been accepted and her friends started wandering off looking for drinks and food, Damon leaned against the bar next to her, his voice a low purr in her ear, "Not that you aren't pretty in red, because you are, but you could give a fire-engine a run for his money... What _are_ you thinking about to be blushing so prettily, Elena?"

As if he didn't know, the blackguard! She'd get him back for that! She gave his black leather pants and closefitting, black tee a thorough once-over, and raised dark, lust-filled eyes to his. The obvious direction of her thoughts instantly sent Damon's mind spinning out of control.

He groaned and whispered, "_Seriously_, Elena! Keep looking at me like that, and I'll move this bit of your birthday bash upstairs and turn it into a party for two!"

Elena had recovered her composure by now. She raised an eyebrow in perfect imitation of the vampire next to her, and retorted, "_Seriously_, Damon! It's _my_ party. I can't disappoint Caroline by disappearing so soon!"

She cast a furtive look about her to make sure there were no supernatural ears anywhere in the vicinity to overhear her as she lowered her voice and murmured impishly, "Later… who knows? I shouldn't have to remind you that anticipation is the purest form of pleasure..."

He frowned a little as he unexpectedly felt her hand caressing his butt cheek through the soft leather, "Just what game are you playing, Elena?"

Elena gave him a wide smile and said in husky tones, "Why? Do you wanna play with me?"

"_Always_, Elena," His voice was just a breath in her ear, "Tell me. What are the rules of this game?"

Her finger slipped underneath his shirt, unseen by anyone, and she ran a manicured fingernail along the edge of his pants, sounding uncannily like Katherine for a moment, "No rules, Mr. Salvatore. No rules..."

The slow smile that lit up Damon's features made a frisson of excitement run down her spine. He noticed her shiver and purred, "God, Elena. I've totally corrupted you, but you are absolutely delicious... No rules it is! Be prepared to lose!"

Elena raised an eyebrow, "What makes you so sure I'll lose?"

He smiled smugly and did his eye-thing, making her stomach do somersaults, "Because I'm gorgeous, and irresistible, and you simply can't say 'no' to me..."

Elena rolled her eyes in mock-exasperation, but her smile betrayed her, "You are cute, Damon, but your ego needs several ZIP-codes! It's way too big for poor little Mystic Falls!"

Damon hadn't heard anything beyond her first words. "_Cute_? I'm so _not_ cute! Have you _met_ me?"

The salsa band had now finished tuning the instruments, and struck up its first song of the night. Elena slid off her chair and grabbed Damon's hand to drag him onto their temporary dance floor under the stars. He came willingly, taking in the elegant lines of her simply cut, little white dress and her extremely high-heeled white pumps that made her legs seem endless and gave her a somewhat coltish appearance. The white material contrasted beautifully with her olive skin, making her stand out like a fresh flower between the gothic-styled youth of Mystic Falls with their clear preference for black on black, livened up only by the occasional splash of imperial purple or adventurous grey. Was it any wonder this town was attractive to vampires? They already got their color schemes matched…

The wooden floor underneath the multicolored strings of party lights was still empty, but Elena didn't seem to care. She turned towards him with a mischievous smile, "Oh, I've met you alright! You're cocky, arrogant, conceited, but…"

Damon was quick to take hold of her hand and draw her flush against his body in a single tug. "But you love me anyway."

She smiled into his eyes, "I do. I love you just the way you are…"

The pace of the music quickened, and they couldn't talk anymore, but their bodies spoke louder than words when they moved through the intricate steps of the dance as if each knew the other's next move before it was made. They were poetry in motion, so engrossed in each other that neither of them noticed the lonely figure that was watching them dance from the shadow of the distant trees, blinking furiously to keep unwelcome tears at bay.

When the music slowed, they did too, their movements turning languid and sensual. Damon's eyes had gone an enchanting shade of bluish-green under the artificial lights, but they were just as intense as ever, and filled with emotions that made Elena tremble as he said softly, "I _love_ to dance with you, Elena. If only this would never have to end…"

She swallowed and looked up, hopeful eyes raised up to his face, "It doesn't _have_ to end, you know…"

Damon's eyes widened a fraction in surprise, and his voice was rough with feeling when he said, "You mean…?"

"I want to dance with you _forever,_ Damon…" The whispered words hung in the still air between them, until Damon crushed her body to him. Under the distant trees, only the leaves moved in the breeze.

-THE END-

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><p><strong>AN: And so, that was it. I can hardly believe this 'little' story has kept going for so many chapters (some of you know that I was aiming for something like 20-25 LMAO), but my little summer fling with Delena turned into a full fledged romance that lasted all through autumn and well into the winter. I enjoyed myself immensely writing this, and thank you so much to everybody that has been reading, alerting, adding to favorites, and especially reviewing! I must have told you before, but it's true that this story wouldn't have gone on as long as it has if it hadn't been for all of your wonderful feedback! :D <strong>

**And so, if you liked it, please leave me one last review on this chappie? Or drop me a word on the whole story… I'd really like that. Thanks again, and perhaps we'll meet again someday ;)**

**BTW, you can also follow me on Twitter. I'm val_victrix :-)**


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